Many will identify post-rock as being contemplative, maybe a touch melancholy. It’s music for careful introspection behind rain-lashed windows. Based on their third full length, ‘Possibility Of Not’, Aldershot based trio Parachute For Gordo can’t help but disagree, for theirs is a sunshine spin on the genre, their noodling math-fused meanderings chock full of a jaunty and infectious positivity.
Opener ‘Jellied Eels’ shimmers in with cymbals and lush, dreamy, guitar strumming backed by John Harvey’s warm undercurrent of smooth bass. There’s a slightly clumsy drop into a meditative drum groove and the band pile on the effects a little too readily through the mid-section, but it ends by building steadily to a pleasingly dense section that gives way to droning feedback.
‘Anemone To Manatee’ jams out an atonal, ’90s noise-rock-evoking main riff, with Laura Lee’s meandering guitar overlays conjuring the spirit of Mars Volta-lite. Clattering drums mesh with stabbing atonality, shifting and angst ridden, reined in by big bass hooks. There’s a final jazzy flourish, showing off some tasty snare chops. ‘Wallet Moth’ kicks off with shuffling indie grooves, bass rumbles and jangling guitars refusing to be pinned down, adding a decent sense of flitting movement. Looping, pensive guitars build to a crescendo of fuzz, a maelstrom of instrumentation slowly dropping into a wearied, gentler version of itself.
‘Gopher The Throat’ tolls away distantly, approaching with a skittering electro loop before the instruments barge in with hard-edged drive and a joyously simplified, infectious, rhythmic loop. ‘Cornholio Slaps The Goose’ (don’t ask) locks into a good-time rolling rhythm, trilling guitars and restless drums giving off a happy-go-lucky vibe. It shifts through scraping guitar work into a slightly raga break, phasing into a bass-led swing before bursting out into twinkling, superbly bright section that you won’t be able to resist cracking a smile to.
‘Put Your Hand Up If You Like Sloths’ crawls all over itself with waah-ing guitars and big ballsy bass, while Mark Glaister taps out slightly off-kilter drum patterns. It’s very jam centric, possibly the most realised track here, with layer upon righteous layer of descending basslines and hypnotic guitar loops.
As a whole, ‘Possibility Of Not’ is entirely inoffensive. While it lacks the dynamic shifts and intensity of some of its post-rock peers, it sets itself apart through its sheer joyousness. Despite being a little rough around the edges, especially in the sense of its production, which is often stranded in the mid frequencies, it more than makes up for this with a playfulness that’s difficult to criticise. The band clearly enjoy every minute of this; it’s their most certain effort to date, and they’ve forgone the more varied approach of their past to settle into a groove all their own. There’s a possibility of not enjoying this record, but it’s a slim one.
JAY HAMPSHIRE