Shifting Sands CD 2009
Parhelia hail from Dublin, Ireland and their debut release saw the light of day in 2006. When they first contacted me they sent me their second release, *Oceans Apart* (EP 2007 - now unfortunately sold out) to review in the Second Book of Sentences and I was enthusiastic about their music then as I am now. In 2009 they released the *Shifting Sands* album which is under scrutiny here and which shows that Parhelia have honed their style and are pushing the boundaries of what is possible in the genre they have chosen to work in.
As I type I am listening to this on earphones, probably the best way to enjoy this group's music, and the thing that of course will first strike the listener is that Parhelia are a totally instrumental band and that the songs are all quite long (the six tracks on the CD clock in at over 35 minutes) but yet don't seem to be too long. I really really have to applaud this as I can appreciate the very hard work that they have to do to make the songs interesting and hold the listener's attention without vocals and lyrics. In this they suceed admirably. I must say that I am very enthusiastic about their brand of "refined Instrumental Post-Rock", a genre that boasts such acts as Godspeed You Black Emperors and Do Make Say Think. On the whole I am not a great fan of this style of Rock and don't hold the aforementioned groups in any kind of high regard. But Parhelia are something quite special. The songs are all quite slow and build up gently from clean plucked intros to distrorted and very hypnotic passages that envelop the listener and make for a very relaxing listen. Ocean imagery is the theme that binds everything together and this is hardly surprising if you consider where the band are from. My favourite here is the title track which features a very emotive and evocative main phrase that builds, ebbs and builds again. I think this one evokes images of changing landscapes and possible also lives and relationships, people's minds and faces... Having said that, all the songs here are very good indeed and I actually find myself returning to this CD quite regularly.
The musicianship is without fault and the members of Parhelia are clearly competent players who rehearse regularly and have created a tight unit. The production, courtesy of Neal Calderwood of Manor Park Studio in County Antrim is also very good and suits the music very well, each instrument being audible and all the nuances present and correct.
The layout is attractive. The cover of this digi-pack is rather interesting as there is no band-name or any other text to be found on it, meaning that the brooding and very beautiful cover art (a photo taken in the Alvord Desert, Oregon) is completely unspoilt. One very odd thing that must be noted however - there are no song-titles to be found on the inside cover. This is very starnge and means that the display on the CD player has to be consulted. I presume this was done on purpose but I don't think I like it very much as the song titles (such as *Our ship has sailed* or *Time and tide*) add to the atmosphere of the tunes!
You should support Parhelia and the album can be obtained directly from the band for the knock-down price of €6.00 for the CD which features six tracks and the same price for the limited edition 5-track cassette version. This price generously includes world-wide postage so I fail to see what's stopping anyone from getting this! Go HERE
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