Short Reviews [Pinhdar - 2021 - "Parallel"]

Here we have the second album from Italian art rock/trip-hop project Pinhdar, which features Cecilia Miradoli and Max Tarenzi. It attracted the attention of Fruits de Mer, who published the album on their Friends of the Fish imprint, even though the label is best known for psych/prog/krautrock. Apparently, head honcho Keith Jones has long been fascinated by the work of producer Howie B (Bjork, U2, Tricky, Siouxsie and the Banshees and many others), and when he heard the mix of genres and styles, he knew he had to be involved. This is all about music which is heavily atmospheric, often bringing in strong elements of dream pop, while at others it is far more jagged, and I can imagine those going down well with audiences who are into Jazmine Mary while the more abrasive elements may find a place with those into krautrock. However, there are also elements of electronica, and while the vocals are often interesting, I found that there is something about this which is too left field for my own tastes. That this has been gaining rave reviews makes me think that the issue here is more with me than the album, and I am used to having views which are contrary to the rest, but this feels somewhat unfinished at times and the space within songs such as “Too Late (A Big Wave)” is detrimental as opposed to exciting. Experimental, covering loads of different bases, this was just something I could not get my head around, but quite possibly that is down to not having the time to fully invest in it, but after 8 songs and 35 minutes I was quite pleased it had finished. Vocally, Cecilia is somewhat reminiscent at times of Kate Bush, but there is a lack of continuity and style within this album for me to become excited about it.