EP REVIEW: Picture Parlour – Face In The Picture

‘…a collection of wonderfully striking performances, perfectly relevant, cleverly executed, and brilliantly theatrical…’

Are they an industry plant, or are they just a female musician you don’t know? A question for the ages!

Similar to The Last Dinner Party and Wet Leg, Picture Parlour burst onto the scene with a phenomenal debut single after years of hard work, drawing the ire of blokes up and down the nation. Surely, there had to be someone pulling the strings for this band! No one could just rock up to support a Bruce Springsteen gig with no releases!

Alas, the truth was far more mundane than any grand conspiracy; Picture Parlour are hardworking and talented musicians. Having established a reputation as a fantastic live act, the band were launched into the stratosphere with their incredible debut single, ‘Norwegian Wood’. Their follow-up, ‘Judgement Day’, saw them pushing their experimental boundaries further, and hinted that Picture Parlour were far from just another indie band.

This is confirmed on their immense debut EP, ‘Face In The Picture’. Not only do the band avoid retreading old ground by releasing four brand-new singles, they challenge any expectations of them to reign in their creativity in the face of mainstream indie success. Picture Parlour sound frankly immense throughout, with sweeping, cinematic instrumental soundscapes unfurling beneath dramatic yet smoky vocal performances.

The opening moments of the title track layers Katherine Parlour’s irreplaceable vocals over sparse piano keys, before it unfurls into a Bond style track of waltzing rhythms and gorgeous, glossy strings. ‘Dial Up’ grounds things a little more, with a greater focus on driving guitars and percussion. It’s a brisk yet welcome reminder of the rock core of this band, as they pursue increasingly intricate and ambitious soundscapes.

It’s the back half that proves to be the highlight here however. On ‘Ronnie’, one can imagine Parlour desperately gripping onto a microphone, drink in hand, delivering an incredible theatrical performance. The lyricism is both brilliantly wistful and overwrought with emotion, culminating in a viscerally memorable track from the first listen.

’Moon Tonic’ brings back those uber-cinematic vibes that the title track presented with. Cascading orchestration crashes around the listener as Parlour pulls off yet another stunning vocal performance. The band punctuates the track with their clever use of rhythm, alternating between sweeping waltzing passages, and moments of stripped back precision that indicate to the listener that the spotlight is now on Parlour.

Sometimes the band do borrow from their influences a little much, as moments of the EP do come a little too close to modern Arctic Monkeys. The vaguely abstract yet romantic lyricism, the sweeping orchestral arrangements, and the husky vocal performance that sometimes feels like a stream of consciousness are all elements that could be pushed further creatively to avoid sounding like a (dare I say superior) companion record to ‘The Car’.

This band clearly have the ambition and talent for it; an LP could be a masterful release if they truly work out what it means to be Picture Parlour. However, for now, what the band have accomplished is a collection of wonderfully striking performances, perfectly relevant, cleverly executed, and brilliantly theatrical. ‘Face In The Mirror’ destroys any allegations that Picture Parlour were a flash in the pan, and if this truly is what the industry is planting, then please keep watering it.

Although that does make me wonder, who is that all male outfit with no live experience that opened for Liam Gallagher? Hmm…

RATING: 79/100 – Mostly Very Good

For Fans Of: Arctic Monkeys, The Last Dinner Party, Crawlers, The Last Shadow Puppets, The Family Crest

Physical copies are available to purchase here.

Follow the band on social media below:

Instagram // Spotify // Twitter