Posted by Three years ago, Australian five-piece Parcels found themselves to be one of a handful of artists in history to hold Daft Punk’s attention enough to enter studio sessions together.
The band have seen considerable success since – going from a last minute promotional slot at a Bjork-lead All Points East Festival in 2018 to selling out a headline show at Somerset House’s Summer Series last year, with millions of streams of their self-titled debut in between.
Recorded pre-lockdown, ‘Parcels Live Vol. 1’ takes place in Berlin’s Hansa Studio – an iconic location that played host to much of Bowie’s output in the 1970’s. By their nature, Parcels look and sound like they could have been plucked from this time period, with confidence. The album is even recorded on tape with an accompanying visual directed by the band’s creative director, Carmen Cromollin that looks as smooth as it sounds.
Live albums are often disputed as a fading art form. Some of the best live albums of the past decade have been released to mark a significant point in a band’s history, such as LCD Soundsystem’s faux-farewell ‘The Long Goodbye’ or Sleater Kinney reuniting to create ‘Live In Paris’. Albums that don’t frame recordings of their live music in this way have a tendency to fall flat.
‘Parcels Live Vol.1’ is a richly coordinated display of musical chemistry, but that is where the charm ends. Instrumental components flow with the same precision of an album recording, the harmonies are tighter than ever on songs like ‘Closetowhy’ and ‘Comedown’. However, the appreciation for this quickly develops into an awareness that nothing new is being offered.
The band concedes that you’ll struggle to find any ‘bells and whistles’ in this, forgetting that this is often what makes a live album so compelling. Fans of the debut may be content without them, but marking an event, giving the music movement, or offering a listening experience with different production elements can be a winning moment for many casual listeners.
Without those, there is little to set it apart from the original selection of tracks put out via Kitsune in 2018. A selection of newer, unheard efforts such as ‘IknowhowIfeel’ are promisingly disco-tinged and the closest the band comes to counteracting this. An enjoyable workout, ‘Live Vol. 1’ is a testament to their talent as musicians, but lacks a little flair.
6/10
Words: Shannon McDonagh
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