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BAND OF THE MONTH: THE PARLOTONES
Let me start this off quite plainly: I freaking love The Parlotones. I'm gonna give you the standard brief info about the band, and then I'm going to delve into all the reasons I freaking LOVE this band.
The Parlotones come to us from Johannesburg, South Africa where they are multi-platinum holy-shit huge. In fact, the band is known as the biggest rock band in all of South Africa. In 2002, they released their debut album called "Episoda", but didn't reach mainstream success until the second record "Radiocontrolledrobot" in 2005. From their their careers skyrocketed, releasing "A World Next Door To Yours" (2007) and "Stardust Galaxies" (2009), along with a few compilations, DVDs, acoustic & live albums.
Their lineup includes Kahn Morbee (vocals/guitar), Glenn Hodgson (bass guitar/piano/backup vocalist), Paul Hodgson (guitar), and Neil Pauw (drums).
Okay, on to a more personal note: I basically love every single thing that The Parlotones have ever done ever. All of their songs are fantastic, and I listen to them all the time. However, my personal favorite is the entire Stardust Galaxies record. I am not ashamed to say that I listen to that record at least once a day. The opening track "Push Me To The Floor" is the first thing that I heard from the band about a year or so ago when a friend of mine linked me to their music video for the song, and I instantly fell in love with The Parlotones.
The songs are easy to listen to without being boring, with great melodies, incredible lyrics, and social messages that don't suffocate you. In fact, I dare you to listen to "Should We Fight Back" and not tap your toes, and feel that little burn of social rebellion inside.
I could go on and on and on for a really long time about every single song on Stardust Galaxies, or my favorites from their other albums, but I still wouldn't be able to compare the sound to anything for you. The closest (and still not even that close) I could come would be to compare them to Muse, when they're all mellow and stuff. It's not often that I can't come up with a single thing to compare something to for you guys, but with The Parlotones, they just really do have a one-of-a-kind sound. With that, I highly urge you to check out the links below and listen to The Parlotones and make your own thoughts about it! I highly recommend "Push Me To The Floor", "Come Back As Heroes", "Should We Fight Back", "Life Design", "Fireworks And Waterfalls" and "We Call This Dancing".
Before we know it summer is going to be over! Not sure how I feel about that just yet, but here we are in August with a brand new band of the month. The Parlotones! I have to admit how I actually found out about this band, and I am sure there are going to be a bunch of people who judge me for it but hey it brought this band into my life. Now, if you know me at all you know that I am a reality tv junkie. And you will also know, that somewhere along the way I got hooked to Jersey Shore. Now there was an episode where J-Wow broke it off with her boyfriend at the time, there was a song playing in the background. I had to find out who did that song. It was amazing and from the first moment I knew I would love the band. Well believe it or not it was a song by our band of the month. The song was called 'Brighter Side Of Hell'.
The minute I found out who the band was I immediately got their album 'Stardust Galaxies'. Every song was simply amazing and an album hasn't done that to me in a long time. It has been a while since I could listen to a full cd from begin to end like I can with this one. The sound has a pop feel to it, but mixed with the perfect amount of rock to give it that slight edge it needs to be able to work with the lyrics. Upon obtaining this album, I of course had to explore back further into the bands musical career and found out that this was in fact the third album they had released. There are two songs from their previous albums that I feel in love with, "Giant Mistake" and "Life Design".
I think if you haven't had the chance to possibly get out of your box and explore music outside your home base, I think you should take a chance on The Parlotones. You won't be making a mistake because this band will be going places. Their music will make an impact on you and you will definately be finding yourself closing your eyes and enjoying what flows past your ears as I did on that faithful day I got myself a copy of 'Stardust Galaxies'.
Life is all about the experiences we have, and I know that you need to have the experience of having this band on your playlist. Even if you just take a chance on one song, which of course I will recommend 'Brighter Side Of Hell', do that. Wet your whistle with one and go from there, because sometimes all it takes is that one song to get your addicted and make you realize that you are missing out on some musical BRIGHTNESS!
"You're The Only Joy I'm Shy Of"
The very first time I listened to The Parlotones was, surprisingly enough considering the past few months, not when I heard they were the BotM, but when Caity sent me a link to their video for Push Me To The Floor and described them as, I believe, "A mix between Panic! At the Disco (during the reign of the "!") and Silverchair". (At least I think it was Silverchair. But I distinctly remember the comment about the P!atD).
It was a very apt description! They're catchy as hell and a lot of fun to bop around to. The video for Push Me to the Floor is actually really clever (which is always a selling point for me when it comes to bands).
I know this is a short review, but honestly, the Parlotones are just one of those bands that you have to check out.
August is upon us, and with it comes a new band - the Parlotones. Now, I will say that I had never heard of The Parlotones - by name, but I swear I've heard them somewhere before. I can't place it, but they just sound comfortably familiar.
I'm currently listening to the "Stardust Galaxies" album, and am completely digging it. The Parlotones have an awesome, rocking mellow sound. Usually for these bands of the month, I jump around from song to song, trying to get the general feel of the band in the shortest amount of time. But for the Parlotones, I don't want to miss any of their awesome music.
To me, it's the type of band you can listen to while you're doing something else (clean the kitchen, surf the internet, etc.). As Caity said, this band's sound is hard to compare to other bands, because they have a one of a kind sound. But, as I said earlier, I feel that I've heard them before, in that comforting way.
The Parlotones are completely awesome, and I hope that they have a plan for world music domination (in a non super-villain way). They are just too awesome to be contained by South Africa. The world needs to know The Parlotones. So, Sound Faction BFFs, if you listen to the Parlotones and dig them (and you don't live in South Africa), tell your friends about them. Spread the word of wonderful, rocking music far and wide. And if you are already in South Africa, where they are, quoting Caity, "multi-platinum holy shit huge," then I'm sure you already know about their summer Driven by Volkswagen tour. But, for all those Floridians, they are also playing in Pensacola on October 16th as part of DeLuna fest. If you get the chance, go check them out, because I'm sure they will be awesome!
Hello, good little Sound Faction boys and girls. Let me tell you a little something about the Parlotones. This, friends, is a band worth listening to.. Im going to try and keep my submission short and sweet, because you currently need to spend a little less time on this page, and a little more time hearing these guys.
At first, I wasn’t super sure about my thoughts on The Parlotones. Actually, it took a little convincing from Caity before I could honestly say that I liked them. As she often tends to, she managed to change that CLEARLY misguided opinion, with ease!
If I could tell you what the Parlotones sounded like, Id tell you to turn on some Snow Patrol at the same time as some fun Electronica… Maybe Passion Pit? Its actually a really great mix! I promise that you WILL enjoy Should We Fight Back (My favourite, by far!), Its Only Science, and Come Back as Heroes. I swear it isn’t possible to not enjoy these songs.
Seriously. PLEASE listen to this band. Im not even just suggesting that you should. Your body currently requires The Parlotones. Its almost become a medical matter. Enjoy!
I had never heard of the parlotones until Caity made them band of the month. The first song i listened to was "Giant Mistake." my first thought was that they have a sound very similar to Keane or Snow Patrol. Which is in absolutely no way an insult. I very much enjoy Keane and Snow Patrol. And now, since hearing The Parlotones, i very much enjoy them.
One thing i really like about The Parlotones is the way they experiment with instruments and the sound of their music.
Check them out and enjoy! "Should We Fight Back" is definitely a song worth hearing and a video worth seeing!
LINKS
