Parallels >> returned to Phoenix for the 3rd time and another in the midst of a sweltering desert summer night that topped 118 degrees in the middle of a severe dust storm. Last night they made their debut at The Rhythm Room and showed off 2 new band members, some new hardware and added a full-length album of electric awesomeness to the arsenal.
Okay so maybe some of the aforementioned was already introduced last summer at Bar Smith but I wasn't there. The last time I saw Parallels was their previous atop the roof at Bar Smith when Visionaries had recently dropped and they played that entire album pretty much in its entirety. It was only Holly Dodson and the other original member at that point. Now her brother Nick has taken over on drums and a multi-talented synth master named Artem for added depth.
Nick is charismatic and an innovative kit specialist. During the sound check I got to hear samples of new tech plugged in on the kick drum which added a variety of killer futuristic back beats. Artem is the wild card drawn, rocking the shit out of the Korg MS2000 but jams keyboards, guitar, vocals, etc. Along with Holly's vision and already demonstrated prowess, it was apparent when I spoke with them that they are really happy with this formula and don't see any limits to what they can do creatively.
While they love being on the road and playing for a new crowd in every city it also seems like they're anxious to get back to the studio and wrap up the EP that's due to drop later this year. It will be another product of Holly's continued musical maturity but enhanced with the current formula's contributions so I'm just as anxious as they seemingly are.
Last night they only performed 3 songs from Visionaries but 'Dry Blood', 'Nightmares' and the closer in 'Ultralight' are my favorite ones from that release so I'm cool with it. They blended these in with the illest shit from last year's XII album including 'Things Fall Apart' and 'Ritual Dancer' which they opened with. I love this album and I would have been happy to hear it front to back but it ended up being a fairly short set due to time constraints? Or weather? I don't know but what they performed was potent to the max and the entire bill that also featured Trails and Ways and Pastries With Teeth was definitely a treat.
If you're in the LA area or San Francisco this weekend, go check them out at Los Globos or The Great American Music Hall, respectively, and you'll get to dance your ass off to some really rad electro.
PS. Be on the lookout for my interview with the band after the holiday weekend. They are mad cool and had lots of interesting shit to talk about. Peace!
Setlist: Ritual Dancer * Dry Blood * Electrimotion * Nightmares * Love & Devotion * Moonlight Desires * Things Fall Apart * Ultralight
marc
