PÆRISH

If you’ve ever watched David Lynch’s classic 2001 film Mulholland Dr., you might just recognize the title of Pærish’s third full-length, You’re In Both Dreams (And You’re Scared). You can hear that in these songs—and to that extent, this album disproves the very anxieties and insecurities that inspired it. Pærish vocalist/guitarist Mathias Court thinks this new album is “heavier, noisier and way more sad than the previous one,” the result of writing much more spontaneous songs. He’s not wrong. It opens with the solemn, heavy beauty of “Sequoia”, a track that’s simultaneously comforting and frenzied, beautiful and harrowing. It’s on the next track, “Daydreaming”, that the crunching, heavy riffs Pærish have made their own first appear in full force on this record, but afterwards they’re found throughout. “Amanita” is an overwhelming surge of tortured emotion that pulsates menacingly, the melancholy “It Only Bothers You” feels like it carries the entire burden of humanity on its shoulders, while “Houses of American Style”, “Brian Wilfuzz” and “Worry” all sound like timeless classics from American alternative music’s heyday – albeit imbued with Pærish’s own distinct sparkle. It’s not all crushing riffs, however – in addition to “Sequoia”, “The Luck You Had” and final song “My Every Step” are moments of tender grace and beauty. It all combines to make this the album Pærish have been striving to make.