Düsseldorf's Neumatic Parlo not only cross the Rhine on their sonic journey, but also make a swim through the English Channel with their debut album play it as it lays: Drenched in the guitar sound of the early 90s, the five musicians skillfully take their place alongside UK greats of the recent past - fans of Shame, Squid or Dry Cleaning will be pleased by a band sounding as urgent, inventive and not German at all! Inspired by Joan Didion's novel of the same name, Neumatic Parlo’s play it as it lays tells a story of lonely crowds, aimless ambition and big city despair. They carry Didion's urban fear of the future from days gone by into the present, making it all the more palpable. Beautiful, astute lyrics straggle between concrete towers made of guitars, expressing the world-weariness of a disappointed urban romantic. After all, the future was once believed in here in the metropolis. It’s therefore tempting to read lines like “words spit on the pavement / like leaves around a tree” ((feed me) shallow kiss) as a statement on their own art. The ten songs on play it as it lays pelt down on us as a distorted shower, claiming their required space and flooding it with topical stimuli. In an echo chamber of feedback loops, energetic riffs vie for the undivided attention they deserve. Throughout the album, an emotional maelstrom unfolds that is tempting to succumb to. Neumatic Parlo have put so much careful effort into their art that one might want to say: There is hope!
carnage is the first single from Neumatic Parlo's debut album play it as it lays. Against a backdrop of grainy guitar riffs and relentlessly steaming drums, we are asked over and over: “wanna join the massacre?” - Any questions left? The second single brightness from Neumatic Parlo's debut album play it as it lays is a ray of light in the gloom. Sumptuous post-rock sets the mood for the story of an eternally smouldering flame of love - and leaves an indelible impression. With the third single from their debut album play it as it lays, Neumatic Parlo play themselves into a rage! invitation mixes shoegaze reverie with energetic At the Drive-In-type post-hardcore. Could there be a more fitting lyric than “you've crashed your dreams and your cars”?