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<\/ins><\/p>\n Para Lia is a celebration of the indie and alternative rock scene of the 1990s, while at the same time playing with elements of the dark wave sound of the 80s. On top of this, there’s a certain element of psych, and prog rock. Listening to ‘The Man Who Went Away’, we can hear all these elements, but it reminds us mostly of New Order; a nihilistic, almost morbid sound. Having said that – we like it a lot.<\/p>\n Ren\u00e9’s vocals are dark and somber – but they’re nonetheless still very appealing – we’re taken back to the likes of the afore-mentioned New Order, and also artists such as The Smiths and The Cure. There’s also a very grunge-y feel to their sound, and it all comes together to produce a sound of their very own.<\/p>\n Ren\u00e9 Methner is a one man band, providing vocals, bass, guitars, mellotron, and keys, as well as programming analogue drum kit samples. Despite his full on hands on technique, there’s still plenty of room for wife Cindy, whose backing vocals complement his lead perfectly, creating a stunning male\/female harmony in the choruses.<\/p>\n Methner had previously been a member of a variety of bands before Para Lia, playing guitar, singing, and writing the songs. Speaking of his music and influences he says,<\/p>\n I am a big fan of Neil Young and Crazy Horse, I love the garage rock of the mid and late 60\u2019s as well as a lot of great sounding bands from the 60\u2019s on \u2026 There are no limits, a song is beautiful if he radiates something special.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The duo didn’t even have a name for their project until after work was completed the tracks ‘Higher And Away’, and title track ‘Soap Bubble Dreams’. Methner explained,<\/p>\n I speak Greek and Greece always was an inspiration for me. So suddenly the Greek word paralia came in my mind, It simply means \u2018beach\u2019. And isn\u2019t it a beautiful place to be? I like the sound of the words, and I am very lazy and was not in the mood to search around, so Para Lia was born.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n You can find out more about Para Lia and their music on Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>, Spotify<\/a>, SoundCloud<\/a>, and YouTube<\/a>. ‘Soap Bubble Dreams’, and ‘The Man Who Went Away’, are out 22 March. The CD will be released in a special 18×18 sleeve, complete with a 6-page-booklet.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n
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