…layer of glorious confusion, ALLEGORIES It’s A Parade
Allegories – It’s A Parade is available on Bandcamp, Apple Music, Spotify.
by Walter Price
There’s plenty I could wax on about Allegories’ haunting journey “It’s A Parade”. Maybe I’d start with the near anxiety the discombobulated opening brings as it quickly drops the listener into the electronic heat of an after-hours dance club scene, or I could tell you how the vocals remind me of Ian Curtis. Which would all be true, but bear with me as I go in a slightly different direction.
Truth be told, the majority of press materials I’ve received over the past several years have talked about songs that are empowering self-discovery stories, love gained and/or lost, or some sort of road to various versions of acceptance. Which is great. But the storyline Allegories layout in their onesheet is, well, beyond cinematic. Nearing a fever dream, to be honest.
It reads…
Almost any life snippet can be turned into a grand delusion. “It’s A Parade” only shows flashes of those supposed events, almost fragmenting the art of storytelling. Thoughts of revolution, messianic visions, drunken adventures, inflated accomplishments, dreams of a better life, and misguided importance are all interrupted into a formed narrative. Sonically suspended over layers of breakbeats, IDM psych, chopped-up acoustic instruments, and colourful flourishes of synthesis.
Adding another layer of glorious confusion.
At the centre, the song took inspiration from a friend dryly recounting his latest misadventure. Getting drunk, making a scene, being chased by bouncers over rooftops, and then subsequently plummeting to the ground when he miscalculated a jump, ripping open his spleen. Nothing was embellished or exaggerated, but then the story melded over time with other friends’ recollections and their own incidents, creating a hodgepodge of debauchery.
As the song evolved the narrative became deluded with hallucinations of majesty and splendour. But the dreams won’t save you, and the undiluted brutal reality may make you more wistful than any fantasy.
There you go. Not a reason in the world I’d want to try and best that kind of picturesque brilliance.
And to top it off, on Spotify, “It’s A Parade” is backed by another killer retro club vibed track called “Pray” and it’s easily one of my favorite pairings so far in this new year. Both tracks transport me, as they will you, back to all those dancefloor all-nighters from eras past. And you can stream both, now at the GTC.
ALLEGORIES It’s A Parade
+ Pray
Artwork // photo // quotes courtesy of Auteur Research
It’s A Parade
Produced by: Adam Bentley & Jordan Mitchell
Mixed by: Adam Bentley & Jordan Mitchell
Mastered by: Jeremy Greenspan
Pray
Produced by: Adam Bentley & Jordan Mitchell
Mixed by: Adam Bentley & Jordan Mitchell
Drums: Paul Koehler
Mastered by: Jeremy Greenspan
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“It’s not every day that a long-dormant experimental noise project reappears as an elite electronic-pop outfit intent on burrowing into your subconscious and unearthing deep-seated memories of a time when we could congregate freely without worry.” – bio