Parlovr is great. Parlovr is fantastic. As a matter of fact, a strange fatal attraction will operate at the very first listen the explosive sound produced by these three young men joyously strucking decibels while howling to the torments of lost love. The excitement towards this bright and energetic act - and this an euphemism, really,could not be more justified: the effervescent power-trio recent albu  new album Kook Soul subscribes as one of the best release of the year. Here’s our encounter with drummer Jeremy MacCuish at NXNE headquarters in Toronto.

IX : Parlovr just unleashed a new album, Kook Soul, which was released May 24th. Could you tell me a little about it ? 

Jeremy : We recorded first album on a shoestring budget for less than a thousand bucks. Then, we launched an EP and since we had the hitch to record new material for a long time but then we were touring a lot, which made it impossible. Also, we had two different released for the same album since it was picked up by a label after a year, so the whole process took much more longer than what we wanted. We finally got into the studio and recorded a bunch of new material; we’re pretty of proud of it. It sounded different from other stuff out there, so we’re pretty exited to be touring and play new songs!

IX : Your songs are very upbeat and joyful but when paying attention to lyrics, we realize that they mostly speak about heartbreak, grief and misery.  

Jeremy : That’s a good point.

IX: What was happening with you guys ?

Jeremy : The other guys went through some pretty tragic break-up and and personal things right before the album, so they wrote some very sad songs. But if you record sad songs as heavy-handed, dark wave ballads, it sometimes looses its effectiveness. It tends to become somewhat of a pretentious emotion, so you want to counter-balance a little. I once had a conversation with a score composer for film music, he was saying his trick is that when he watches a scene in a movie and tries to understand what the scene is about in the film, he will try to write the music that matches the second mood of the emotion that he feels, not the first one. With a good film, you will feel a few different things. He made a point that there are subtleties and wider range of emotion that are felt you try to underscore the second emotion. So, something like sad lyrics and hopeful music or silly music will add a little scope to it and make it more human - not that its that simple, but it works.

IX : We can sense strong rock and roll influence in your sound. Which artists or bands were influential to Parlovr’s music? 

Jeremy : We all listen to pretty different stuff, but we kind of agree on some older soul or rock and roll - Sam Cook, Otis Redding and Wilson Pickett, to name a few. Garage band is also a major one  - the Sonics, the Kingsmen, among others. For recent picks, we all listen to very different things . Personally, I really Delicate Steve and few Montreal bands : Uncle Bad Touch and Purity Ring are great too. The Flaming were also a big influence, we all love their stuff from different periods too. Their latest work is great; I personally prefer Clouds Taste Metallic or In a Priest Driven Ambulance, its super heavy and dirty music. It’s very different of what they are doing right now,  but why make the same record twice ?

IX: Parlovr has been extensively touring across Canada and the States. You even got to share stage with Tokyo Police Club and We Are Wolves. What has been  your craziest experience ?

Jeremy : Tokyo Police Club are very nice people. We also toured twice with We Are Wolves, including one memorable time in Quebec where people there go crazy over them. Then, played in a lot of places where English band don’t go such as Chicoutimi, Dolbeau, Alma or Gatineau.

IX: Is it really different from playing in Montreal ?

Jeremy : Absolutely. Everyone goes out to the shows without really knowing the band. When there is a show, its the only thing happening in town and they are all going to go. They come watching with wide eyes and opened ears, really ready to get into it and its a lot of fun. In comparison with Montreal or Toronto - not that Montreal is a huge city, there is bigger than that, those cities you have to work a little harder to win over the crowd. Still, that is how you learn to be an okay band.But’s its to fun to play in a tiny town where everybody is exited to see a live rock show.

Kook Soul - Parlovr

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