Parcels have been busy making an intriguing serial drama with the videos for songs from their acclaimed second album, ‘Day/Night’, and fans just can’t get enough. ‘Famous’ is the latest instalment in the series, and just like the others, will leave fans puzzled, maybe disoriented, but definitely ready for the next.
Director Carmen Crommelin, who just happens to also be the sibling of Parcels guitarist and singer Jules Crommelin, has given the songs of ‘Day/Night’ a most artfully fractured storyline, featuring a house party, a psychiatrist, a frustrated host, a dancer, and above all, a myriad of gorgeous, angled shots of the city at night. All the sorts of things we keep to ourselves, such as voyeurism, sexual ambiguity, romance, questions of privacy, are explored in these eminently rewatchable, three minute movies.
While ‘Day/Night’ is a double album, it will nonetheless keep you gripped all the way through. Parcels were originally from Brisbane, Australia, but ae now based in Berlin. While their sound is deep and serious and vaguely mysterious – much like the German Capital – they still retain some of the Endless Summer vibe that’s synonymous with music from their home town.
‘Famous’ brings back the sound of Studio 54, and Earth Wind & Fire’s ‘Boogie Wonderland’, but it’s delivered with impeccable modern production, and gorgeous choreography in the form of Parcels drummer Anatole “Toto” Serret, who turns his small apartment into a stage for his movement. He’s not alone, though — he dances for the delight of his small child, who joins him for a few steps. All the while, without his knowledge, he’s being photographed by another, a character played by Parcels synthesizer player Louis Swain. Is his intention to make Toto famous, or is he a stalker? Others are watching, from the party the other band members are at, visible in a high window across the alley, and that psychiatrist, who seems to be Toto’s wife, but who doesn’t have much enthusiasm for his dancing. What is she up to? There are teases, and suggestions, but there is no closure given by Crommelin. We will just have to wait for the next video…or maybe the one after that or the one that follows on from there.
Watch the video for ‘Famous’ below and find out more about Parcels and their music online on their official website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and on BecauseTV.
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