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I just love the feeling of getting the inspiration to write a review before even finishing my first listen of an album. It’s times like these that I somehow forget I’m a jobless bum (hopefully not for long though). My post-graduation depression aside, I’ve got some more great instrumental post-rock from over seas. Parhelia is from Dublin, Ireland and appropriately sharing the stage with God is an Astronaut February 20th… unfortunately it’s all the way in Cork, Ireland. That would be a great show, but the travel expenses are bit out of my price range at the moment.

I’d say Parhelia is some sort of mixture of Pelican and God is an Astronaut. Perhaps leaning a little more towards Pelican, but Parhelia is so much more colorful (a rather fitting name if you ask me). They have a raw band sound similar to Pelican, but bring out more melodies and counter-melodies… keeping my attention better. Best of all, even their bassist is melodic. They’re simply aren’t enough melodic bassists that also maintain a solid rhythm section, thus bridging the gap between guitar and drums. Maybe I’m just a fundamentalist and an Obnoxious bass player, but that’s exactly what bassists are supposed to do. Even better, when a bassist does that, he/she actually has more room to be creative. It’s a win/win/win (because I win too).

I haven’t yet listened to First Light (2006) and Oceans Apart (2007) enough to really assess the distinction between the two releases. Off the bat I’d say Oceans Apart is a little brighter, but that’s preliminary at best. Both albums do a great job of giving each guitarist and the bassist a voice throughout. On a slightly critical note, sometimes the drums seem a little detached. That’s not to say the drums aren’t good or off tempo, nor is it to say it’s necessarily the drums themselves. The drummer does a great job with dynamics and signaling tonal or structural changes in the song and then maintaining that change. But I think that some stronger and impulsive syncopation between the drums and some of the melodic elements will push this band to the next level. Regardless, Parhelia is off to a great start and I can’t wait to hear their new release coming out by this April. In the mean time you can purchase each of their releases on iTunes for $5 a piece, and they’re DRM free.