Much like Laufey, who played this same room just the night before, it seems like the rise of Parcels has been nothing short of meteoric. Just over six and a half years ago, Montreal Rocks was covering their show at the tiny Théâtre Fairmount, and now here we are at a packed-out Place Bell. Insanity!
It’s funny, looking at photos of Parcels back then is a lot like looking at The Lemon Twigs now; total 60s/70s throwbacks, right down to the haircuts, and a sound to match. The vocals on “Look for Your Mind” are a carbon copy of that classic Lennon/McCartney harmony, and “You’re Still My Girl” is totally Hollies. “Corner of My Eye” is unmistakably Beach Boys, with a vocal verging on falsetto at times, and sees a slew of phone lights around the room add to the ambience. The song that follows sounds a ton like “Surfin’ U.S.A.” too, whatever that was. A good choice of opener that complements the main event nicely.
Even Parcels seem kinda shocked at the size of the crowd assembled tonight. During the set, bassist Noah Hill rhetorically enquires, “Who knew we had so many fans in Montreal?!” while guitarist Jules Crommelin exclaims, “Thanks so much for coming, there’s a full arena in front of us!” It really is astonishing. The set starts with “Tobeloved,” the opener from this year’s Loved record, and builds and builds in conjunction with quadruple vocal harmonies. The electropop funk continues into “Ifyoucall” and then “Overnight,” which culminates in a slick synth solo. “Somethinggreater” is a major funk standout, with floodlights at stage side and rear blazing, which subsequently dim to red on “Sorry” immediately after; the funk most certainly does not dim for a minute though!
With most of the crowd on their feet and partying by now, songs like “Gamesofluck” and “Yougotmefeeling” take things up another level, setting off huge pogos on the floor amidst the massive beat drops. It doesn’t go unnoticed by the band, one of whom remarks, “I don’t know what makes a good energy in a good group of people, but this is it!”
The set features a number of more mellow moments to afford the dancing crowd the chance to catch their breath. “Safeandsound” is the first foray into ballad territory, a moody churner that ends in an explosion of strobes and smoke so thick you can barely see the band, and things chill out even more on “Summerinlove” and its Marvin Gaye keys. A Kiss Cam patrols the floor section amid the red lights and sleazy vibes, though it remains to be seen if any similar Coldplay scandals result.
“Leaveyourlove” is the most stripped-down moment of the set, all five of the band sat at the front of the stage singing over a piano track (unless there’s an actual pianist hidden in the darkness at the back… I can’t tell). They slowly return to their spots as Noah finishes the last of the vocal, and next song “Iwanttobeyourlightagain” starts off gently too, though it only makes the drums and bass even more cacophonous when they arrive in parallel with another barrage of strobes.
Special mention for “Tieduprightnow” as well, unquestionably a highlight of the band’s catalogue, which unsurprisingly draws one of the biggest singalongs of the night when it drops towards the end of the set, and still sounds amazing.
A special hour-and-three-quarters wraps up with an encore consisting solely of “Finallyover”; part of me wishes I had hated the show, because that really would have set me up for the easiest cheap-shot conclusion for this review. But alas, it was great!
Parcels Setlist
- Tobeloved
- Ifyoucall
- Overnight
- Somethinggreater
- Sorry
- Safeandsound
- Gamesofluck
- Summerinlove
- Leaveyourlove (Acoustic)
- Iwanttobeyourlightagain
- Everyroad
- LordHenry
- Thinkaboutit
- Lightenup
- Tieduprightnow
- Once
- IknowhowIfeel
- Yougotmefeeling
- Tobeloved (Trance Version)
Encore
- Finallyover
Review – Simon Williams
Photos – Kate Woolliams
