Parcels on Because Music

Parcels

Parcels have always been a band of extreme light and shade: they’re a group of young guys from surf hotspot Byron Bay in Australia who’ve been holed up in grimy nightlife utopia Berlin for years. They make sweet-as-honey vocal harmonies to rival the Beach Boys, atop louche, catchy-as-hell funk and soul – but they can also turn their live shows into slamming techno rave-ups. The twentysomethings stand out amid the current musical landscape: a rock band at a time of pop ingénues and dance routines; five dudes who look like they’ve stepped out of a postcard from 1970s California, all flares, moustaches and shaggy hair; a classic band for atypical times.

Since Crommelin, keyboardist Louie Swain, keyboardist/guitarist Patrick Hetherington, bassist Noah Hill and drummer Anatole ‘Toto’ Serret formed in 2014, fresh out of school, they’ve struck upon a singular sound, weaving together gossamer disco and exotica, soft rock and Sixties pop with a focus on uplifting grooves. Their seductive style has translated into 200,000 album sales worldwide, over 350 million streams, cross-continental tours, shows with French royalty Phoenix and Air, a US TV debut on Conan O’Brien, a Coachella slot and a debut single that was produced by none other than Daft Punk.

After two EPs, 2015’s Clockscared and 2017’s Hideout (the band’s penchant for smooshing words together is a result of a broken keyboard when they submitted their first demo), Parcels’ acclaimed self-titled debut album came in 2018 and was called “timeless and devilishly fun’’ in a five-star NME review. They followed it in 2020 with an impressive live album, Live Vol.1, recorded at Hansa Studios, the legendary studio where Iggy Pop and David Bowie hung out during their Berlin years. “We loved the idea that everything was to tape so we couldn’t edit any of the music – it was super raw, you can tell from the video that we were nervous. There’s a few mistakes in there!”

You get the sense that Parcels are a band that’s always challenging themselves in any way they can. They returned with their ambitious third studio album, Day/Night, which is no mean feat: they’ve made not one but two sides, delivered as one double record.

Parcels on Spotify