Parlovr Destroy Instruments With Their Blood

08/19/09 2:14pm

by Erik Leijon (CHARTattack)

MONTREAL — The 2008 self-titled debut from Montreal's most frantic lo-fi rock trio, Parlovr (pronounced "Parlour"), may still only be available on their website and a few select independent record stores, but the up-and-coming group already have a couple more releases lined up.

They're planning to release an EP in January and a brand new record later in the spring.

"On the first record we were getting used to what makes a cool atmosphere," says keyboardist/vocalist Alex Cooper. "Now for the next time out we're going to try to make it sound more live: lots of yelling, dancing and happy rock 'n' roll."

"We have more energy live than on the record, so we're hoping to catch that feeling on the next one," guitarist/vocalist Louis Jackson adds. "More loose and more chaotic."

It may take a great deal of chaos to fully translate the trio's frenetically danceable and delightfully sloppy live show. The group — formed by Cooper and Jackson when they were roommates in a Mile-End apartment building called The Parlour — play with mostly dilapidated equipment prone to giving out at any moment.

What truly gives the band their signature sound is not the tattered gear, but rather the reckless abandon by which they play. Cooper and Jackson often shout their vocal portions with little help from their microphones, and all three members have managed to splatter blood onto their instruments from various bodily mishaps.

"My last keyboard broke down because I had so much blood and sweat dripping down into my keys," says Cooper, who had to drive an equally beatdown car to the heart of rural Quebec simply to find a suitable replacement. "The blood actually ruined all the contact sensors and a bunch of keys stopped working."

"Our gear is starting to look like a brutal Jackson Pollock painting. They're covered with our insides," says drummer Jeremy MacCuish.

Despite the perilous nature of their setup, Parlovr recently completed their first cross-Canada trek with their equipment remaining largely intact. The group are planning on hitting Italy and France this fall before releasing their EP. They've already begun playing the new material live and figure to have around 14 new songs combined for both releases.

The new EP and LP will come on an as-yet unknown label, as opposed to their eponymous debut which they snail mail to customers themselves — an arrangement that doesn't figure to change for the hard-to-find disc.

"We're an independent band that tried hard at waiting for a label and distribution we're happy with, so we've had to do things completely D.I.Y., says Cooper. "It's us packaging the albums and writing you little notes and sending them off."

You can see Parlovr with Sadie Hell, Still Life Still and Converters at Ottawa's Cafe Dekcuf on Thursday and at Montreal's Quays Of The Old Port with Think About Life and The Besnard Lakes on Sept. 6.