Since landing on The Cover of our “emphatic publication” in June 2023, Picture Parlour have been put through hell and back, a duality that they grapple with on recent single ‘Talk About It’. Online, they were torn apart from their genesis, reduced to ‘industry plants’ despite the organic word-of-mouth hype the Manchester-formed band had generated around venues like The Windmill, after they moved to London.
That helped them catch the attention of Island Records and gain a fan in Courtney Love, who attended their third ever show. Following in the footsteps of recent breakouts The Last Dinner Party and Fat Dog, the duo (originally a quartet) comprising Liverpudlian Katherine Parlour (vocals, guitar) and North Yorkshire-born Ella Risi (guitar) held back their music and cut their teeth the old-fashioned way: in the gig room.
Old tricks are also integral to their music, which takes root in rock’n’roll while still sounding wickedly fresh and immediate. Parlour’s addictive, arrogant vocal rasp and the White Stripes-esque crunch to Risi’s riffs indicate a band brimming with confidence. Not one who, in actuality, stepped back from the noise to recuperate and find their feet with one another, in order to create the album to the best of their capabilities.
That resultant record oozes with the elegance that 2023 debut single ‘Norwegian Wood’ teased, perhaps explaining why it finds a home on the album. ‘Cielo Drive’ and ‘Who’s There To Love Without You?’ strut forward with knife-like precision, transporting you live and direct to ‘The Parlour’, an imaginary space and throughline that pays homage to their sweaty roots.
Wonky, on-the-nose guitar riffs dictate ‘24 Hour Open’ and ‘$4 Fantasy’, while the mellow ‘Around The Bend’ and ‘The Travelling Show’ break the album back down to its storytelling. The latter explores Parlour’s complex relationship with her hometown (“you see me now and then”), and the journey that’s taken her to Manchester, London and Nashville, where ‘The Parlour’ was recorded, drawn out with the theatricality of a coming-of-age musical.
The superb ‘Used To Be Your Girlfriend’ lets down Picture Parlour’s shield of swagger, unfolding like a part-time comedy show delivered through the deadpan of Alex Turner. If you’re an Arctic Monkeys grumbler who wishes they sounded like ‘AM’ again, ‘The Parlour’ might actually be the record you’ve been waiting for all along.
Such unavoidable comparisons to numerous rock legends are the only thing holding back ‘The Parlour’ from receiving its Michelin star. On this debut album, Picture Parlour have shown that, in time, they have the skillset and belief to escape the shadow of their idols, and refine their own unique sound that future rock’n’roll bands will be dying to emulate.
