STRFKR
Parallel Realms
Polyvinyl Records [2024]
Album Overview: It’s 2024 and many, many bands have come and gone. Not STRFKR, their musical journey started in 2007 as a solo project and has continued to endure as a full-blown band through the years. is the bands’ 7th studio album and is a veritable smorgasbord of psychedelic indie pop, straightforward song writing, and feel good dance beats that spans the albums near hour run time. The album mainly sticks to a joyful feel with tracks that sound like they belong in a moon based, beachside discotheque. Parallel Realms is fun but, it’s the dedication to quantity over quality that end up making its’ memorable moments hard to parse out.
Musical Style: STRFKR has continued to stay the course and mixes a blend of modern day pop influences, sinister synths that span many decades, Miami sunset horns, and catchy guitars that have continued to punctuate their sound.
Evolution of Sound: Despite exploring various stylistic avenues over the years, STRFKR seems to revisit the vibe of 2013’s Miracle Mile with Parallel Realms. Much like Miracle Mile, this album incorporates chip-tune bleeps, shimmering guitar melodies, hyper-disco glam, and pulsating basslines.
Artists with Similar Fire: Parallel Realms main aim is to bridge the gap between indie pop and today’s pop superstars. Harry Styles, Dua Lipa, Lady Gaga, and Charli XCX come to mind. On the indie side of the coin the band plays with sounds similar to Mild High Club, MGMT, Passion Pit, and Tame Impala.
Pivotal Tracks: “Always / Never” does know how to kick the party off properly. The bouncy synths that prop the song up insight quite the head bob. “Under Water / In Air” was a smart song to release as a single because it feels like one of the album’s most textured and diverse tracks. “Armatron” launches a few vocal arrows to kick the track off, then it cruises into a deep space haze. Finally, “Lot of Nice Things” takes a stab at a driving synth wave that almost veers towards a candy-coated Perturbator.
Lyrical Strength: Parallel Realms bases itself in the idea that the same emotions depending on the people and the situation can merit wildly different outcomes. The album tackles themes such as the indecision of letting a relationship go or keeping it alive. It’s the human experience at its negative and positive moments.
STRFKR REVIEW HISTORY
Miracle Mile (2013)
STRFKR LINKS
Official Website | Instagram | Facebook | Bandcamp | Polyvinyl Records
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