The river carries our thoughts away in an endless stream of doubt and teenage angst. An intense longing located somewhere between Düsseldorf’s notorious old town and the Oberkassel district on the other side of the Rhine. Where could rebellion against boredom thrive better than here in Düsseldorf’s uptown? In an area of tension between deceptive wealth, abonded sub culture spaces and the fabled salon des amateurs, there’s something cooking and suddenly Oberkassel and L.A. are not that far away anymore.
On their second EP ‘Random Toaster’ Neumatic Parlo play melancholic psychedelic pop. Gloomy lyrics meet delicate melodies and dreamy soundscapes. Vincent Göttler, Justin Jansen, Luis Wedekind, Frederick Oltersdorf and Simon Hartmann create a sound that is simultaneously international but with Motorik, synthesizers and rattling guitars always rooted in the tradition of their hometown. As if he were an antihero of the early 80s, Göttler sings about fear, doubt and a long search. The answer whether he will find what he is looking for is still pending, but the existential need already sounds just like honey.
After their debut EP All Purpose Slicer still sounded like post punk and no wave, Neumatic Parlo are much more psychedelic and playful on Random Toaster. Sometimes that sounds a little like Yo La Tengo or as grueling and noisy as a Ty Segall. Songs like “Real Insight” and “Airplane” rave about dark romantic trips into other spheres, while “Nicolas Winding Refn” is a scenario full of paranoia that could have sprung from a film by the same Danish cult director. The anxiety becomes almost palpable when Göttler’s nervous vocal line lies over a rumbling drum kit and is then literally overrun by a wall of guitars and noise. In “Lake Perris State Recreation Area” Neumatic Parlo reveal the band’s own myth and tell of the joint road trip to the Desert Daze Festival in the Californian desert. In addition to countless Fuzz War escapades, it was an appearance by Slowdive that clearly left its mark here. For the recordings of Random Toaster, the band and producer Patrick Stäudle retired to a farm in the Black Forest. Seclusion and inner contemplation clearly reverberate here.
Random Toaster will be released on May 14th on UNIQUE Records.
