“Croc skin bag from a Lima alligator // Glued to the seat of a smooth operator,” Matt Fullam wryly recounts in Lima’s opening lyric.
Delivered in the aftermath of a dangerously danceable bass riff and a crescendoing guitar lick, it showcases everything that’s right with Parlors: the subtle cleverness of their social critiques (in this case, poking fun at materialism with a tongue-in-cheek description of an accessory that can’t possibly exist), the thoughtful energy of their production, and, maybe now more than ever, the pure catchiness of their music.
“We want this to simply be a fun song to listen to,” says Dan Fullam (drums). “Hopefully it takes listeners to a tropical place away from the gloom of mid-November, and leaves something in their ear to keep humming ‘til the spring comes back around.”
For a band whose previous work has taken thematic inspiration from heady, heavy material like F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Beautiful and Damned and Hunter S. Thompson’s “The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved,” that pursuit of simple fun is striking.
Mostly because it works.
Sonically, “Lima” is built on hand-clapping energy, driven by a four-on-the-floor beat and layered with slick dance chords crafted by Hart Mechlin (guitar) that get closer to something by COIN or Neon Trees than the band’s previous grungier material. But it’s smart, not predictable; the song’s structure is unique, with a pre-chorus that’s an earworm and a chorus that doesn’t even make an entrance until after the second verse.
Lyrically, the band matches the track’s sonic deftness with lines that are worth second listens.
“Tracin’ planes till the rum drunk fades // to a leather lounge with a half-fake sweepstake,” sings Fullam in the bridge, the powers of the band’s descriptive narration on full display via sharp internal rhymes.
In the wake of previous 2019 releases “Lemon Ice” and “Stucco” (a tune Original Rock labeled “full of both old-world desert grit and modern urban energy [that] begs to be heard live.”), “Lima” represents the culmination of the group’s growth into a melodic, meaningful pop outfit.
The track is officially out now!