Released: 12th October 2018
Rating: ★★★★
Daft Punk’s single ‘Get Lucky’ was sound of summer 2013; it’s hard to refute that. Obviously, Berlin via Byron Bay-based Parcels thought so too. They managed to get the robotic duo to produce their breakthrough single, ‘Overnight’, after all. With their hi- funk, it looked like they were set to sit somewhere between the yacht rock heavies and the disco stalwarts of the 70s. They even had the look to match; all surfer dude hair, finely groomed moustaches and plenty of cord flares.
That ‘Random Access Memories’ stamp is all over Parcels. Nile Rodgers-inspired riffs brush up against their more obvious influences. And yet, there’s something quite charming, if transitory, about it.
Lead single ‘Tieduprightnow’ feels like a natural progression from ‘Overnight’, with its funky, bumping bass and glitter ball sheened guitars. On ‘Lightenup’, riffs tumble over each other with a lazy playfulness. When paired with Jules Crommelin’s airy vocals and a surprise ute solo, the track feels beautifully breezy.
In places, Parcels almost feels as though it’s come straight off the pop production line. Everything is just as it should be, nothing out of place and everything spit-shined to perfection. At best, the result is something to lose yourself in. At worst, it edges on manufactured.
Beyond the eight-minute epic ‘Everyroad’, it’s easy for Parcels to blend into one. It’s coolly beautiful and entertaining, like a cold margarita during an Ibiza sunset. But like that margarita, it’s fleeting and, once it’s over, it’s easy to let the moment just slip away.
Chris Taylor
