TOBELOVED Is To Feel It All At Once
Photos of Parcels at the Sydney Opera House by Ruby Borland.
I first came across the band Parcels in the early Australian summer of 2019.
I was sixteen at the time and entering my final year of high school. It was the summer that, now in retrospect, could most accurately be described as that of a ‘coming of age’ one. I got my license, I got my first fake ID and then got it taken off me, I kissed a lot of boys while trying really hard not to think about kissing my girl friends, and for the first time in my life, I really started to question a lot. It was a summer of exploration and deconstruction in a lot of ways, and it all so happened to unfold to a backdrop of Parcels’ debut album. I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Anatole Serret, the drummer from the band. It was a few short hours before the first, of their two sold out shows, on the steps of the forecourt at Sydney Opera House. It was a rather special conversation to me, and in many ways felt quite full circle. I still have my license, I no longer need a fake ID, I have almost entirely stopped kissing boys, and I’ve found a lot of answers to many of those questions I had, but even more importantly than all of that, it confirmed what I did know to be true at sixteen: these guys are not only really talented musicians, but they’re also just really nice humans.
How are you doing?
I’m good! We did a soundcheck today, and I'm feeling excited. I don’t know if there is a more iconic venue to play in Australia, so we’re really stoked to be here.
I was wondering how it feels to come back home to Australia and play at a venue like the Opera House. Do you still get that pinch-me kind of moment after all the many years of touring?
I find it more nerve-wracking playing in Australia.
Oh really?
Yeah, I don’t know why. I mean there’s an added pressure of family being there, which is always super nice being able to play for them. But I don’t know, it’s not my most relaxed on stage by any means. When things go well in Australia, it maybe feels more rewarding than in other places.
I mean, that makes sense considering you guys have all been living away from home since this all really started, right?
Yeah. Now a couple of guys have moved back to Australia. One of them lives in Sydney and the other wants to move here. So, Sydney’s really become the place for one half of the band, while the other three of us are still in Berlin.
Hopefully, that means we will get to see more of you guys here, in Sydney. Now, you guys recently did a Tiny Desk Concert. It was actually how I first heard of the new album. One of the first things I felt while listening to it was quite a specific nostalgia; it was like I was sixteen again and just hearing you for the first time.
Wait, how old are you now!
I’m twenty three.
Wow.
I know, I know, it’s shocking. But tell me, what was that experience like?
Yeah, look, Tiny Desk was amazing. Also, a super nerve-wracking moment for us but we were really happy with it. We recorded it months ago, but we were like, we should release it around the album, and then we just hadn’t heard it for so long. So for months, it was in the back of our heads, like fuck, did that go well or not? We weren’t sure. But when we heard it again, we were like this is sick, let’s put it out.
The songs you guys played from the new album felt like a special sort of ode to your very first album.
Yeah, the new album definitely does. I think this time around, we just didn't think about it as much.
What do you mean?
I think we were really focusing on it, like song by song, just really trying to finish songs how they were and wanted to be, rather than trying to push them into an album or a concept. It was really just like, all right, today we’re working on this, and it can be whatever this wants to be, which is a little bit like how we made our first record. I think each song feels quite different to the others until you listen to it in the album.
And then it all makes sense together, right?
I often think when you zoom out a bit and you put an album cover and a bunch of songs together, it does somehow just sound like an album. But when you’re making it, it’s like, oh no, that would only make sense if it was after that song or before that one. But then, I don’t know, for everyone else, it probably all just makes sense.
Yeah, but I do know what you’re saying though. I personally do think it’s a bit of a disservice to an album if you listen to it in a random order, particularly for the first time. There’s a way in which the artist has ordered the songs, that to at least them, makes the most sense.
Yeah, exactly. It feels wrong. But then in the end, I don’t listen to albums start to finish. Maybe once if I am really excited about someone’s new record, but then afterwards, it’s like, oh, no, I want to just listen to this one song a hundred thousand times.
Oh, for sure. Once you’ve listened to it through once or twice, you have every right to do exactly that.
Totally.
Has there been a record recently that you’ve listened to from start to finish that you were quite excited about?
Ummm.
Not to put you on the spot or anything.
Honestly, no. My girlfriend and I did start listening to Rosalia’s new album because everyone in our lives was talking about it. But we were walking down the street, it was like playing out of a phone, and it sounded pretty good, but then we just got sidetracked and never finished it. Maybe that’s one that I will actually sit down and listen to.
Actually, maybe I’ll do the same. I haven’t listened to it yet either.
You should.
While we’re on the topic of new records, I wanted to talk to you about the theme of the new record. Not because it’s shocking for an album to be about love, but because the lyrics to most of the tracks are actually quite somber in comparison to the sort of upbeat tempos and, just, arrangements in the album. It almost feels like one big juxtaposition.
Yeah, I would say the way that that happens is like songs are written, mostly by Pat, Jules or Noah, and they first just appear as they are. Then, depending on how that is, and in this case, it’s like, okay, now how do we combat this somberness a little bit? Because they are really beautiful pieces of writing, but like a whole album of somber lyrics matched with somber music, it can start to get really draining, or just not at least what this project is about. Then also, hopefully if you went deeper into the listening, you can kind of get the tongue-in-cheekness of putting somber lyrics with more upbeat music. It’s kind of like laughing at itself in a way.
Totally. I think that whole thing does also just feel quite human. In the same way that two things can be true at once. You know, you can be in the pits of your worst heartache but still find moments of joy, by say, listening to an album that will equally remind you that you are not the first person to feel this way and maybe you should just dance around your room anyway. It’s the duality of life!
Totally! I think a lot of the music I listen to is like that. Rarely do I listen to a song that sounds like, and is, full of sunshine.
What do you mean? You’ve never heard of “sunshine, lollipops and rainbows everywhere da da…?”
[laughs] I don’t know. I mean, immediately, a couple of songs do now come to mind that are dark, and the chords and arrangements are dark, and I’m like, yeah, they’re amazing moments, but it’s not always what you want.
No, I agree. I think that kind of song also ends up sort of reserving itself to be only listened to in specific moments. Like, when you’re having a really great day, you’re not going to turn on that really dark, sad, heavy song.
Yeah. But then, now that I’m thinking more deeply about it, maybe it’s also that the songs that the guys write are often a little bit shrouded in mystery. Rather than when a song is really dark and sad, often the lyrics are right on the head.
This is also true, along with the fact that what makes your music so distinct is really the instrumental arrangements of your songs, like the lyrics aren’t necessarily the star of the show, to me at least, when I am listening to it.
Yeah, I think you’d be right in saying that. Which, I guess, is what allows you to dance around your bedroom to it, even if you are going through a breakup.
Exactly, and that’s not an easy thing to do! Do you feel as though the creative process of making a song has changed much since you guys first started?
I think we are getting better at naming things. I feel like the guys that write the songs feel more confident to lead, which really comes from all of us being more accepting of individuals taking the lead in some moments. I don’t think I really realised, because I'm the drummer and I wasn’t writing any of the songs, but there is quite an attachment between the songwriter and their song. In the way of them wanting to kind of push it in a certain way, or not knowing where to push it and allowing other people to come in and kind of, touch your creation.
So, would you say it is quite an individual process to initially begin with?
Definitely. Then I think there’s this kind of beauty that comes in, like eventually everybody feels, like, oh, that’s our song. But you couldn’t pinpoint what it is, but I guess it’s time and space, but then also sometimes, lack of space. I think it works both ways.
Interesting.
I think we’re really a bit more defined with it now, it’s just easier somehow. Maybe as we’ve gotten older, we kind of understand the emotions attached to writing songs better, too.
That makes sense. Okay, I’ll wrap it up in a moment because I know you’ve got a show to go and prepare for, but I wondered if you could tell me a little bit about the construction of the harmonies. I mean, to have four vocalists in one band is pretty unusual, let alone three lead vocalists. But also maybe this will be a hard question for you to answer because you’re the only member of the band that isn’t a vocalist.
Hey, I'll speak more truthfully then they will!
You’re so right. So, what does the construction of that look like when you’re all in the studio together?
Ok, so for having done nothing in terms of the singing department, it’s actually my role when we’re recording to sit in the booth and listen to all four vocals coming in at the same time, because we really like to record them live.
Oh, so you’re actually the perfect person to answer this question then.
Yeah! I actually have to like, push and pull people, being like, ‘Hey, Patrick can you take a step back, and Noah can you take a little step forward.’ There is quite an even spread of high voices versus lower voices, and louder versus softer voices. It is quite a balancing act that only the engineers and I can hear, until we’re doing single voices, which everybody is listening to. But I feel a real pressure to be like, alright, everybody’s singing now, we don’t have a lot of time to get this right, because when you’re singing things over and over again, you can lose your voice quite quickly. You just kind of want to be able to capture some of the magic when it’s happening.
Of course.
But I mean, there’s often a classic like, lead vocalist, third, the fifth and the octave, and not everyone can do everyone’s part. So, it’s kind of fixed in that regard, but there are three lead vocalists. So if someone wants to sing lead, then the other person will, swap out. It’s a little bit like a football team.
Okay, yep, gotcha.
I feel like it is our thing, a little bit. It really came naturally, from growing up busking on the streets. You know, trying to be louder because we wanted more money.
I totally get that. I quite often shout when I want more money too.