Three years ago, British post rock trio Parachute For Gordo impressed with their mini album Ten Metres Per Second Per Second; its instrumental adventures increasingly captivating vehicles for the imaginations of band and listener alike. Now they have returned with its successor Possibility of Not and an evolution in songwriting and composing which had bred the band’s boldest, most bracing yet creatively composed escapades yet.
With new drummer Mark Glaister alongside original members in guitarist Laura Lee and bassist John Harvey, Aldershot hailing Parachute For Gordo escaped to the mountains of Austria for a weekend last year to record Possibility of Not. Whether the assumed isolation their DIY pop-up studio was set up in has been part of the incitement breeding the outfit’s most intimate and refined yet instinctively raw exploration yet only the band can say but certainly there seems a richer and thicker atmospheric depth and boldness going hand in hand with the threesome’s pushing of their creative boundaries. Where Ten Metres Per Second Per Second was a leap on from debut EP Eight Minutes Of Weightlessness of 2012, Possibility of Not enjoys another step forward in all aspects without losing that organic brashness almost punk bred cacophonous heart which has already set their music out from the post rock incubated crowd.
Jellied Eels opens things up, its initial melodic shimmer a crystaline enticement like a window on a warm and inviting yet stark landscape. Whether it is the pre-knowledge of where the band recorded the album or the track itself, its post rock investigation only sparks thoughts of beauty strapped isolation and the intimacy of thought and emotion such surroundings can inspire. It is a mesmeric piece, that raw essence of the band’s music invasive to temper but equally compliment the sweeping grace of the melodic exploration being woven within it.
The following Anemone to Manatee has a more volatile and intrusive presence from its first breath but equally greater flirtation of joyful revelry in its energetic shuffle further accentuated by infrequent but welcome bursts of vocal incitement. With Lee’s guitar almost carving out its melodic portrait like a post punk steeled knife on canvas and Harvey’s bass going on a throaty groove lined dance as Glaister’s swings with each passing minute take greater relish in their jabs, the outstanding track tantalises from beginning to end; an emerging Fire Engines like discordance only adding to its might.
A mellower tone frequents next up Wallet Moth, every trait strolling with a lighter air as flames of melodic dexterity leave suggestive trails like reflection sharing comets. That previously mentioned intimacy is no more powerful than on the third track, it’s weaves of sound and textures magnetic glimpses into the song’s emotive heart before Gopher the Throat floats across the senses being driven by tribal beats and aboriginal like bass textures. Instantly absorbing ears and thoughts, the track is another dance of intimation and enterprise, the trio conjuring a piece of intrigue and adventure sure to be different for each individual but a creative emprise for all.
There is no escaping the fun and demanding stimulation of Cornholio Slaps the Goose, the track a funk assed, indie pop infused romp of swinging beats and infection spewing grooves unbridled in its hunger to have feet and hips indulging in its primal catchiness. Dips into dub spawned tenacity only adds to the virulent exploits toying and seducing the senses as the track grabs best track status though it is continually challenged with every listen of Possibility of Not.
The album is brought to an equally fine end by Put your hands up if you like Sloths, an eight minute plus saunter into imagined mysterious deeds inspired by its cosmic radiance and cinematic hooks. They grab ears and the imagination like a sticky web of lures rather than making a more imposingly direct attack but with the same inescapable outcome, the listener trapped and basking in its highly suggestive soundscape.
With their music Parachute For Gordo find a more insular terrain to explore than other post rock flights of imagination though certainly Possibility of Not breaks into broader challenges too but it is that more intimate feel which sets the band apart from most, that and their undoubted craft and maybe slightly deranged imagination. Accompanied by a video for each song which together provides a visual experience as potent as the aural one, Possibility of Not deserves plenty of your attention especially if post rock and bands like The Mars Volta and The Fall Of Troy are to your taste.
Possibility of Not is out now through Rose Coloured Records @ https://parachuteforgordo.bandcamp.com/album/possibility-of-not and http://www.rosecoloured.com/parachute-for-gordo
http://www.parachuteforgordo.com/ https://www.facebook.com/ParachuteForGordo/ https://twitter.com/parachutefgordo
Pete RingMaster 18/04/2017
Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright
adding to the brewing shadows. The track fully envelops and smothers the senses before a rhythmic dance of schizophrenic beats and unpredictable urgency adds its bait to the darkly mesmeric piece. It is a sinister and slightly uncomfortable start which immediately awakens the imagination and an intrigued appetite for the impending ventures. That brewing hunger is instantly given a compelling feast of noise and experimental rock with the following I Offered You A Small Dog In The Kitchen. A rhythmic and vocal ‘chorus’ makes the first invitation before the clean and impressing guitar intrigue of Lee casts a melodic and descriptive sonic design, one elegant and precise but not lacking a sense of punk seeded incitement either. The bass of Harvey brings a darker throat to the stroll of the song whilst the rhythmic contagion of Somersett grips and leads instincts to embrace the developing creative drama with extra relish. The first two minutes of the song sees the band weave in jazzy and punk essences into post rock and noise soaked influences, that adventurous stance taking on more intense melodic metal and progressive traits the further the song flirts and romances with the imagination.