The clock strikes midnight, the laptop is half-shut, the fireplace is crackling. Parcels “Loved” transports you through their stacked harmonies, easing over a patient groove. No fireworks, just confidence.
That hush at the start makes sense when you remember who’s playing. Parcels came up in Byron Bay, Berlin, their first big break coming from Draft Punk, which led them from club fame to the mainstream. They’ve been getting louder in the world, even as the music gets quieter in the details, which is why LOVED (their third LP) feels like a pivot and more like a band finally letting air into the frame. The popularity curve is real, the stance here is intimate: five players choosing blend over spectacle and inviting you closer rather than pushing you back. With a world tour accompanying the new album, the closest concert is in Chicago.
You hear that intent in the way the record is strung together. “Tobeloved” doesn’t announce itself; it glows, handing the baton to “Ifyoucall,” where the pocket tightens and the bassline heightens. “Safeandsound” keeps the pulse low and the shoulder loose, then “Sorry” and “Yougotmefeeling” raise the ceiling just enough so when the middle arrives, you’re ready for the album’s best quiet flex. “Leaves” is the exhale that proves the thesis: negative space, a kick that hangs back half a breath, guitar flickers like light through blinds, harmonies set in skylights rather than spotlights. From there, the back stretch trusts momentum over spectacle. “Everybodyelse” and “Summerinlove” brighten the edges a bit, “Leaveyourlove” pulls the camera in, and closing the album, “Thinkaboutit,” “Finallyover,” “Iwanttobeyourlightagain”, round feeling off instead of spring for a final peak. The production keeps that promise throughout: fewer spectacles, more details, the tiny breaths and finger noises that tell you this was built to last, not to dazzle.
Two cuts do the most with the least. “Ifyoucall” is the cleanest example of this, unfussy melody, bass carrying the conversation, a refrain that lands exactly because they reduce overall. “Leaves” is the quieter one, the one that doesn’t tap you on the shoulder so much as settle in your chest. Neither track begs to be singled out, which is precisely why they stick.
By the time the last chorus fades, the opening images bring back into view: a small room, late hours, music widening the space without raising its voice. LOVED is parcels choosing durability over drama and earning a full album listen in the process. Groove first, harmony forward pop from a band getting more popular by doing less, better. If you came for fireworks every four minutes, this is not for you; if you came for a journey and a timeless classic, something that keeps the room feeling warm, give it a listen.
