Parcels - LOVED (2025)

There is a song on LOVED, the third album by Parcels, about the electropop quintet's early days as a band, when they moved from Australia's Byron Bay to Berlin right after graduating high school—three of them sleeping in the same bed and two on the couch: "I remember when we were green/ Five people and two sets of keys/ Trying so hard to be seen." It's easy-going, a little sun-dazed, with a jammy drum break, and exactly the vibe you might associate with their homeland. But they're aware of the stereotype. When "Tobeloved" opens up with buoyant, feel-good synth, you can hear the guys joking around in the studio: "Brand new day! Sun is shining, birds are chirping!" Then the signature five-part harmonies kick in, and you know Parcels means business. Patrick Hetherington (keys, guitar), Noah Hill (bass), Louie Swain (keys), Jules Crommelin (guitar) and Anatole "Toto" Serret (percussion) perform ridiculous alchemy when they sing together. It's so warm and human, not trying to be one singular perfect, seamless creature, and able to convey the right emotion through tone. For Hot Chip-esque "Tobeloved," that means vocal exultation to match the roller-disco lightness of the groovy bass and shatteringly crisp cymbal—not to mention a cartoonish motorbike rev. Spacey "Safeandsound"—about "the good side of not knowing: where you are, where you're going, what time it is, your future," according to Crommelin—features vocals that feel calm and reassuring. Delightful "Leaves," which comes on like a mix of the Four Seasons and Tame Impala, pairs expansive chorus harmonies with underplayed verses for striking contrast. No words are needed, just a blanket of ahhhh tethered to the earth by well-deep bass, for humble "EverybodyElse" ("I fell in love/ Then I fucked it up/ Like everybody else did"). "Sorry" conveys self-admonishment not just through its verbal apologies for lies and leaving, but also the sad-sounding harmonies—which suggest an outtake from Sting's Dream of the Blue Turtles. "Yougotmefeeling" delivers hyper jazzy keyboards, party-ready whoops and studio laughter, and sounds like it's one Riunite away from setting sail on a '70s yacht-rock cruise. "Ifyoucall" goes all in on disco funk but also classical guitar, and "Finallyover" showcases theatrical piano and lush, slow-roll bottom end.

TRACKLIST

1. Parcels - Tobeloved
2. Parcels - Ifyoucall
3. Parcels - Safeandsound
4. Parcels - Sorry
5. Parcels - Yougotmefeeling
6. Parcels - Leaves
7. Parcels - Everybodyelse
8. Parcels - Summerinlove
9. Parcels - Leaveyourlove
10. Parcels - Thinkaboutit
11. Parcels - Finallyover
12. Parcels - Iwanttobeyourlightagain