Parenthetical Girls - Privilege (Abridged)
- Written by David Beech
The first thing there is to say about Washington's Parenthetical Girls is that they won't appeal to everyone. They can loosely be described as indie-pop or even twee, drawing comparisons from bands such as The Dresden Dolls and even early Tilly and the Wall. However that is about as straight forward as it gets.
Privilege (abridged) is the fourth studio album from Parenthetical Girls and is made up of a selection of 12 songs taken from the Privilege recordings (a collection of extended plays released between 2010 and 2012.) The whole album will be familiar ground to fans of the band, as rarely does it step in to uncharted territory, which is somewhat paradoxical given the band's penchant for the avant-garde.
The first track on the album 'Evelyn McHale' is a Magnetic Fields inspired dream-pop almost-ballad, that, unfortunately, is not indicative of the tracks that follow; at least for the most part. There are several tracks included which warrant a mention, such as the fantastically 80s 'Careful Who You Dance With' which is reminiscent of The Eurythmics, and the bouncy 'Young Throats' which is somewhat out of character for the record but is a welcome inclusion nevertheless.
That said, the vast majority of the album seems to teeter on the edge of pretence before before falling wholeheartedly in to overt ostentatiousness. This could be the soundtrack to an art-house film no-one really understands. Off kilter piano sections and vocals parts that sound like Amanda Palmer a lot more than they probably should give off an air of the theatrical, something that doesn't sit well. Of course these tracks are taken out of context of their respective EPS and as a result some of the charm may have been lost, leaving an album that feels disjointed and at times tense.
Indeed, the musical credibility of Zac Pennington et al is not to be queried. They are an undoubtedly talented band but the tracks included on Privilege just lack the charm of earlier songs such as 'Love Connection, Pt II'. Something which could perhaps be attributed to the production quality of the record, which, like the talent in the band, is of a high-standard; it's just with so much polish, a record can lose some of it's shine.
Thankfully, the album ends on as it started, on a high note. 'Curtains' is a brilliantly crafted pop masterpiece, and by far the highlight of the entire album. The male/female dynamic, although present throughout the album, works excellently here. It shows what this album could have been; should have been. It's a shame that the standard set by several tracks isn't universal, although avid fans will undoubtedly want to pick up a copy, if they don't already have the EP collection.
Privilege (Abridged) is out on February 14 and available from amazon