Parcels does not shy away from abundance. The Australian quintet’s songs often feature a myriad of guitars, rivaling piano and synths, slinky basslines, pulsing drums and four (yes, four) vocalists. But the group opens its Tiny Desk concert with a secret weapon: hauntingly bare harmonies, backed only by gentle keys and guitar, that transform a snippet of the irresistibly catchy “Leaveyourlove” into a solemn oath of devotion.
It’s a stunningly stripped-down choice for a band that can — and does — properly rock out, with explosive live performances that turn its glossy, electro-pop studio albums into transcendental dance parties, collective rituals of movement and joy in which the crowd becomes a key sixth band member. But it’s also a return to the band’s roots. Parcels started out as a group of high school friends, jamming together in the idyllic seaside town of Byron Bay. After graduation, they relocated to Berlin, where their early days were spent busking on the streets, performing bluegrass covers of pop songs.
At the Tiny Desk, evenly spaced out and in a ceaseless, mischievous musical dialogue with one another, Parcels’ egalitarian ethos is front and center: There is no lead singer, there is no frontman. As an instrument-wielding boy band, the group converses with a fluidity that taps into the psychedelic playground of the Grateful Dead and dances into the hypnotic electronica of Giorgio Moroder. Sunlit melodies melt into one another; a cascade of soulful voices guides listeners from the early days of Parcels’ discography to the magnetic bliss of the band’s newly released album, LOVED. Both the record and the performance emanate the magic of spending a decade making art with your best pals.
SET LIST
“Leaveyourlove””Tieduprightnow””Ifyoucall””Yougotmefeeling””Gamesofluck””Finallyover”
MUSICIANS
Jules Crommelin: vocals, guitarLouie Swain: vocals, keys Anatole Serret: drumsPatrick Hetherington: vocals, keys, percussionNoah Hill: vocals, bass
TINY DESK TEAM
Producer: Isabella Gomez SarmientoDirector: Kara FrameAudio Technical Director: Josh NewellHost/Series Producer: Bobby CarterVideo Editor: Joshua BryantVideographers: Kara Frame, Joshua Bryant, Maia SternAudio Engineer: Josephine NyounaiProduction Assistants: Dora Levite, Ashley Pointer Photographer: Alanté SereneSeries Editor: Lars GotrichExecutive Producer: Suraya MohamedExecutive Director: Sonali MehtaSeries Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson, Robin Hilton