Parallel Lions
Holding Patterns
11 Track, LP (2009, Bird Music)
Related: Art Of Fighting, Parallel Lions.
With Art of Fighting’s current status officially described as “on hiatus”, frontman Ollie Browne has sought to fulfill his creative urges by forming Parallel Lions, a trio consisting of himself on vocals and guitar, Hamish Michael on guitar, keyboards and computer, and Sam Bates on drums. Holding Patterns is their first album.
At the centre of this record is the unmistakable voice and songwriting skills of Browne. So distinctive is his vocal palette that it’s virtually impossible not to draw immediate comparisons to AOF. Opening track ‘Taste of Your Heart’ is built around a soaring melody that wouldn’t sound out of place on Runaways, but a rich underpinning of electronic textures and Bates’ muscular drumming effectively nix any notion of Parallel Lions as some kind of mini-AOF. It’s a pattern that holds true throughout the album. Rather than riskily attempt to push the boundaries of his songwriting further than they will comfortably go, Browne’s allowed a more natural evolution to take place, guided at least somewhat by his choice of collaborators. Michael and Bates, with their backgrounds in film soundtracks and jazz, respectively, bring a freshness to the album that in all likelihood couldn’t have been achieved by your standard rock rhythm section. Certainly, songs like ‘For You’ and ‘Black Clouds’ benefit greatly from this.
But if these slightly non-traditional arrangements are the open-minded brain of Parallel Lions, then Browne’s songwriting is its exposed and vulnerable heart. From the gently strummed acoustic guitar on first single ‘Separated’ to the stripped bare ‘A Song with an Ending’, Holding Patterns boasts a plethora of incredible songs, equally as good as anything Browne has penned for his “other” band.
There’s no doubt that fans of Art of Fighting will find plenty to love about Holding Patterns without finding it to be a rehash of old ideas. Parallel Lions has provided a new context for Browne to flex his songwriting muscles without ever straining them.
by Adam D Mills
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Great album but can't help missing the tension that underlined a lot of AOF's songs.
''A Song With An Ending'' a definite highlight.
Any word on a vinyl release?
This is such a pleasant surprise. The demos made me want to kill (as did the snorefest of the last two AOF releases) and, although it's very hi-fi and borderline lame-o, it ends up kinda totally awesome.
In short, I likey.
I kinda wish 'Separated' went somewhere different when that guitar line briefly suggests a change of emphasis but I really, really like the fact that it just drops in and out so briefly. It keeps me hanging just for that moment ...