Parlour Steps

The October 2009 release of The Hidden Names by Nine Mile Records act Parlour Steps should finally put a spotlight on one of Canada’s most intriguing bands. “If there is an overall theme to be distilled it would be of the never-ending search for meaning and connection in today’s world,” Caleb Stull, the band’s founder, chief songwriter, singer and guitarist says of the album. The keen intelligence, the ambitious ideas, the pride in tackling heady, cerebral concepts that has characterized the band from Vancouver, British Columbia, from the get-go remain intact. But a newfound musical confidence gives a carefree flow to the band’s music, with a vivacious presence and palpable warmth. Lauded by the Canadian press, Parlour Steps has at various times evoked comparisons to the brainy pop of XTC, the drama of Arcade Fire, the lyrical focus of Sufjan Stevens and the snappy rhythmic grip of the Pixies. But it is Caleb Stull’s relentless curiosity and daring songwriting that separates the quartet from the indie-rock pack. The opening track, the buoyant “As the World Turne... more...