While critics who favor the minimalist movement coming out of the American and Canadian undergrounds might disagree with me, I personally think that indulgence has a place to be kept within modern indie pop, and I get the feeling that Parcels agree with me after listening to their new single “Famous.” Although conceptually rather simple, when breaking down the track’s compositional and cosmetic elements to their skin and bones, there’s a lot of melodic excess to behold in “Famous,” not the least bit of which can be directly credited with making its poetic value exceptionally higher than the status quo calls for.
The music video for this single is an extension of its liberal aesthetics, and to me, its energetic visual scheme matches the vibe of the music well. While there’s a limit to how much pomp and panache any video or song can withstand before sounding outright campy, this is a scenario in which more is more, a notion that a lot of artists and critics the same are having a hard time grappling with in 2022. This is a new age for pop music, and there’s room for a little more of everything that makes the genre so intriguing in the first place.
Watch the video for “Famous” below
These harmonies are fairly retro and recall elements of disco-era pop songcraft that we don’t hear a lot of anymore – especially on the mainstream side of the dial – but they don’t feel so old-fashioned as to be repellent to a Gen Z listener like me. On the contrary, there’s a rather fetching component to the implied rusticity of the melodic underpinning in “Famous” that I can’t get enough of, and if I had my way I’d be hearing a lot more of it in everything Parcels decide to produce from here on out.
This has got to be one of the more striking production qualities the band has experimented with since first making their debut not too long ago, and to me, the definition of the instrumentation alone makes this a worthy listen this late winter season. It’s undebatable that details really matter to these guys, and were this not the case I don’t think they would be going to the lengths they are just to establish a sexy sonic presence, no matter what verse we’re listening to or what tempo the players are moving at.
One of the best singles to bear their name in the byline thus far, I think Parcels’ “Famous” is going to do some incredible things for this underrated band, starting of course with building up their visibility on the college radio circuit. The video is already doing quite well in terms of its streaming numbers, but considering how much buzz Parcels have been getting from music enthusiasts, I can’t say it’s much of a surprise at all. “Famous” is a good depiction of where they’re at right now, artistically at least, and I hope that it’s also giving us a little taste of what they’ve still got cooking in the studio.
