Picture Parlour have just finished a short tour of UK grassroots venues, in anticipation of their upcoming album ‘The Parlour’. Their penultimate show in Hackney institution Moth was a display of overtly retro-indebted theatrics with a jaunty affect.
Having performed their first live show at the iconic Windmill, the duo returned to the capital last Thursday, supported by fellow nostalgia-tinged indie act Matt Felix. Felix delivered a pleasant guitar-led set, culminating in a noisy finale, accompanied by a small band who appeared as though they’d creeped off the set of Withnail and I, taking the pinstripes and shaggy appeal with them. The audience had already packed onto the dancefloor and surrounding snug by the time they’d reached their last few songs, one of which was dedicated to Felix’s mum. At 9pm, headliners Picture Parlour swaggered on stage clad in berets, sunglasses, and pointed collars – somewhat mirroring the now sizeable crowd. From the first moments of Cielo Drive, frontwoman Katherine Parlour’s commanding voice filled the room with her distinctive, Americana vibrato, which later erred on the side of unnatural. This sense of forced characteristics became a strong theme throughout the concert, and was perhaps encouraged by the large, yet unresponsive crowd.
While the music was technically well executed and sounded fine, their blaringly obvious influences were loud as ever. While there is of course no issue with wearing your influences on your sleeve, which can be an admirable display of self-awareness in an artist, there must be a balancing act between inspiration and identity. Picture Parlour seemed to be donning a costume rather than a cultural heirloom, which can be difficult for an audience member to reconcile with when the band themselves seemed to lack a vital light-heartedness. In a sense, their commitment to the aesthetic du jour was commendable, as frontwoman Parlour never broke character, it is just unfortunate that the persona in question felt pastiche and insincere.
The band played recent singles, including Who’s There to Love without You?, a punchy track with Jimmy Page inspired phrases, and currently unreleased music from their upcoming album, The Parlour. Each song demanded the attention of the audience with their often dramatic riffs, but received little encouragement. Curiously, there was a point in the show where Parlour appeared in the crowd herself, the rest of the attendees forming a large empty space around her. It is rather telling that the second most energetic audience member was the frontwoman herself – the first being a joint position between the stage-side couple bouncing up and down the entire way through. This impressive cardio session punctuated the lack of energy in the rest of the audience, which seemed at once expectant and sadly uninterested.
Another example of bizarrely reluctant engagement followed Parlour’s instructions to get down on the floor, and to jump back up at the band’s crescendo. The underwhelming response to what could have been a highlight of the concert, along with a smattering of premature applause (for latest single Used To Be Your Girlfriend), perhaps demonstrated the awkwardness of the crowd rather than a poor live performance. It is, however, difficult to lose yourself in music that is relatively shallow.
All in all, while the tone and look of the band was more or less consistent, it had an artificial sheen to it which was hard to ignore. With the impending release of their debut album, I wonder whether they will offer a peak behind the curtain, as it is becoming rather worn.
Written by Maya Baker
Photography courtesy of Briony Graham-Rudd