In their typical fashion, kind of
Certain sounds, and certain bands, are quite indicative of a specific time in life. Each genre has its own nostalgic catalog, drumming up voracious longing for times much better than the present. In many ways, In Parallel is where two sentimental factions join into one—with members of the early 2000’s alternative outfit Celebrity (whose track “Cave” was an integral part of the Swimfan movie soundtrack but also, adolescence at the time) and Hopesfall, who was a collective favorite from the Equal Vision Records roster. With In Parallel, though, most of Hopesfall’s heaviness, brought by way of Ryan Parrish, is delicately balanced by Celebrity’s mellowed tinge of angsty shoegaze. That makes sense, considering the remaining members (Lance Black, Mark Nash and Jesse Fine) all hail from Celebrity fame.
Still, their latest release Fashioner sees them doing something a little different. While it’s still as dark and as moody as their 2018 debut EP Broken Codes, what’s different about it seems to be their approach. While rumor has it that iterations of Broken Codes were scrapped post-completion for not hitting the mark, each track on Fashioner seems to have reached each of their potential with ease. That could be because this EP was made possible from a crowdsourced fundraising campaign—the Nashville foursome knew what they needed to give their devoted fanbase. And they did just that.
“Deep Dark” has a slightly post-punky pace and air to it, while “Leave It With The Ghost” is like slightly operatic post-rock. “Fashioner (No Exit)” has one of the biggest sounds on the five-track collection, taking on a ’90s alt sound that’s bolstered by ’80s style dark pop, brooding vocals and an all too catchy hook to boot. Fashioner is anchored by tracks containing elements akin to their debut, which helped to usher in and out a sense this sense of familiarity for them as a group. Even though In Parallel didn’t change much about the formulas that made either of the participating bands stick in our bands, that’s okay. Together, it’s a sound that totally works. If they end up releasing another EP, it’ll only prove that further.
Leave a Comment