If you haven’t checked out Parlor Walls since their excellent 2017 album, Opposites, then put your headphones in and turn your ears on. This set at Saint Vitus should be a must-listen for those of us who’ve followed Alyse Lamb’s career since the early ’10s, and those new to the party. Three of the newer songs – “Neuromancer”, “Love Complex” and “Low Vulture” are represented on the band’s May 2018 EXO cassette, and are among the band’s best work yet, pushing further into No Wave territory and somewhat away from some of the free jazz flourishes that appeared on Opposites. Parlor Walls’ songs are noisy, astringent documents of our time, complicated, unsettled and at-times brutal. Lamb has always been that special type of performer who doesn’t seem to need an audience; her unflagging intensity comes from within rather than without. (If you don’t believe me, see how she and drummer/keyboardist Chris Mulligan bring it alone in a Paste Magazine sound studio). It’s incredible that she and Mulligan can pack this much into their songs performing as a duo (their albums have additional bandmembers, in the most recent case, multi-instrumentalist Jason Shelton); like the full-time Brooklyn duo Yvette, they fill the stage without the extra bodies. If unrest is the overarching theme of these jittery pre-election days, Parlor Walls is the right soundtrack.
I recorded this set with Schoeps MK4V microphones at the soundboard combined with house FOH Jeff’s excellent mix. The sound quality is outstanding. Enjoy!
Download the complete show: [FLAC/ALAC/MP3]
Parlor Walls
2018-10-18
Saint Vitus Bar
Brooklyn, NY USA
Recorded and produced by acidjack
Soundboard (engineer: Jeff) + Schoeps MK4V>KC5>CMC6>>Sound Devices MixPre 6>24/48 WAV>Adobe Audition CC (align, mix, compression, fades)
>Audacity 2.1.0 (track, amplify)>FLAC ( level 8 )
Tracks [Total Time 30:09]
01 Neuromancer
02 Love Complex
03 Pinafore
04 Spinning Gold
05 Ignite
06 Low Vulture
07 Cover Me
08 Birthday
What an awesomr article on an outstanding band! Parlor Walls rock!!
i like this band a lot