Parenthetical Girls - Entanglements

by Maarten Schiethart

published: 7 / 10 / 2008

Label: Tomlab
Format: CD

Eclectic-sounding retro on second album from stylish Portland, Oregon-based four piece, the Parenthical Girls

Review

From Portland, Oregon this stylish quartet sounds like an English south coast 70's pop group one moment, and the next build on traditions of cabaret and vaudeville. What sets Parenthetical Girls apart from numerous followers of retro kitsch, is their eloquence, and that they dare to borrow from minimal music just as well. On 'Young Eucharists' they bring on the digital guns and the whole philharmonic army in as well. The title track sounds very ceremonial, with a subtle appearance from a brass section as if for a burial. Throughout the entire album the Girls walk a dangerous path, so close to bombast at times, but their clever timing and arrangements keep astonishing. 'This Regrettable End' dwells in weltschmertz and disappears into a forest of string orchestration. Sheerly on the strength of its compositions and because of a wealth of styles that seamlessly interrelate, this second Parenthetical Girls album is quite impressive and a great pleasure to listen to

Track Listing:-

1 Four Words
2 Avenue Of Trees
3 Unmentionables
4 Gut Symmetries
5 A Song For Ellie Greenwich
6 Young Eucharists
7 Entanglement
8 Abandoning
9 The Former
10 Windmills Of Your Mind
11 This Regrettable End