We last heard from Nashville’s In Parallel two years ago when they released their debut EP, Broken Codes. Now, the band has unleashed their next release, Fashioner, via Wiretap Records, and we think it’s safe to say that it is everything you’ve been waiting for and more.
Comprised of members of Celebrity and Hopesfall – Lance Black, Ryan Parrish, Jesse Fine, and Mark Nash – In Parallel have been dazzling listeners with their signature shoegaze meets alternative sound since the early aughts in both bands combined.
Mixed by Ken Andrews (Failure, Year of The Rabbit) the band’s second EP, Fashioner, takes listeners on a consistent journey that hardcore music fans will appreciate as there are no audio breaks between tracks; a refreshing take for an industry that tends to value quantity of singles over quality. Fashioner forces you to pay attention as it delivers a haunting, moody goodness that shall serve as a perfect countdown to Halloween!
We asked the band to break down each track off of Fashioner in this exclusive track-by-track commentary. Enjoy and don’t forget to pick up a vinyl here!
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“Six Over Eight”
The idea for “Six Over Eight” manifested itself through experiences and conversations had while making Fashioner. For the band, 2019 was a year of change, loss, closure, and joy. The song’s title comes from literal writing on the wall, as the new home of the band’s guitar player, Ryan Parrish, was under renovation and 6/8 had been scribed on a portion of insulation pressed between a wall’s frame. The title felt representative of the band’s time spent in the basement/studio of that home while making the record and holding each other up during a challenging year. The song’s chorus summarizes their experience: “Six over eight and wasting away. It’s just human nature. We feel it that way. Turns that we’ll take, will lead to mistakes. They’ll be there tomorrow. There’s so much at stake.”
“Fashioner (No Exit)”
The inspiration for the album’s second track “Fashioner (No Exit)” was born out of a moment of anger, and it served as a way to put that emotion on paper and let it go. When writing the song’s lyrics, singer Lance Black allowed himself to feel the full weight of that emotion, and the outcome is meant to challenge one’s morality when so called “righteous anger” kicks in. A lyric in the song states, “I’m gonna make it alright to entertain what I might do.” That line captures the sentiment of this song about a character navigating a dark path in which they won’t steer away from. “When the road has no exit.”
“Deep Dark”
“Deep Dark” started as an idea several years ago and was completed during the making of Fashioner, when the band revisited the idea and let the song’s emotion that originally inspired it, determine its final shape. The song’s subject matter deals with the overwhelming feeling of depression and the codependency that often comes with it. Its chorus concludes that we are complex human beings living in a world with little tolerance for mistakes or flaws: “We’re the sum of the ocean and its deepest parts. Where it ends, and where it starts. We’ve asked for nothing, but you understand what a perfect world demands.”
“Leave It With The Ghost”
The album’s longest track, at over eight minutes, was written in the studio and started with a simple beat and a bass line. As the band played the song, each part seemed to materialize and then lead them to the next. This process represented the freedom the band felt while writing and recording in an environment that had no limits of time or expense. A place where you could go and forget what might have happened that day. The song itself is about letting go of preconceived ideas about who you are, as it relates to your past. The opening lyric of the song echoes this message: “Minds play old tapes. We’ll never be the same. Leave it with the ghost.”
“Threat Of Heaven”
“Threat Of Heaven” is the final song on the record, and the last song written for it. The idea for the song came from a conversation sparked by another song, “I Burn” by the Toadies. Before a recording session, someone in the studio mentioned something about having listened to the song that day and how great the lyrics and music compliment each other. The conversation eventually turned to religion and its lasting impact – both negative and positive. Singer Lance Black had long wanted to write a song that allowed for an honest take on religion and its effect on him as a child raised in the church. His approach when writing the lyrics was to take a very matter of fact look at religion, but to end the song with a look at heaven as a threat of loss and loneliness, instead of a reward: “Don’t believe and we’ll be missing out, leaving us behind. The threat of heaven.”
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