PARALANDRA
The Body Electric
Legend Recordings
"Impact:" The dictionary defines this as follows:
Impact -
1 - The action of one object coming forcibly into contact with another object.
2 - To have a strong effect or influence on a situation or person.
Regardless of which definition of this actionable noun comes to mind for you, I have to agree with both. PARALANDRA, simply put, is an impact.
It is nothing new to have family members share in musical endeavors. Siblings have become somewhat of a typical band make up these days. It makes sense, honestly. As the product of a household with five siblings myself. There seemed to always be an overlapping of hobbies and interests.
Holidays are the prime example. Similar Christmas presents introduced us to similar hobbies, interests and quite honestly sometimes obsessions. One year in particular, my brothers and I all received skateboards on a snowy NJ Christmas morning. We were beyond excited. Unfortunately for our parents, it led to their absolute torment. Again, it was a white Christmas. That is not conducive to maintaining order with 3 feral boys and new boards.
What makes the family dynamic stand apart with PARALANDRA is that this is a father and daughter band. What begins as a one off performance for a local 4th of July event in Missouri, has evolved into the release of two EPs and now with The Body Electric, two full albums.
Cassandra Carson, (Vocals and rhythm guitar), has a voice that is both commanding and striking from first note to last. Lzzy Hale has now been put on blast!
The Body Electric has its rock n roll fuse lit with opening track "Look At Me Now". A tight, calculated rhythm section from bassist Sawyer Rickard and Dakota Watson on the drums give PARALANDRA strong direction and the space for the guitarwork to fan the flames.
"Dirty Love" and "Better Days" fill in the next two slots, keeping the momentum moving with purpose. "Give Me A Reason" and "Spell On Me" are a couple of my favorites. "Give Me A Reason" is the perfect barometer to gauge PARALANDRA, gauging how much shit this band is willing to take, which would be ZERO!
Dakota and Sawyer are "defining impact" here by feeding gunpowder to pitbulls. The guitar work is absurd. Paul's leads are special, paying homage to 80's glam/hair metal in a song that came out today. Not an easy thing to do, let alone have done it well and with ferocity.
"Spell On Me" has it all, a sense of yearning, loss, regret, a lack of self worth and the wish to be good enough. Haunting guitars alternate from the background of the song, musically gaslighting you one minute and emerging in your face taunting you the next.
Father & daughter both shine here respectively. Cassandra delivers the lyric "I am drawn to your voice like a siren's song" in such a way she embodies the siren. Without choice or protest the listener mirrors the lyric and is drawn towards her song.
As with any climb eventually there needs to be a plateau. Momentarily allowing you to catch your breath. "Love of My Life" delivers that well deserved melodic peace and pace. In addition to slowing down the frenzied adrenaline rush to the ears, "Love of My Life" is the perfect vehicle for Cassandra to deliver on the promise that there is an emotional spectrum to her talents.
I haven't been so engaged hearing a new band in quite a long time. It is a sigh of relief knowing there are newer bands that are putting out straight up rock and roll records. More importantly though, Kick Ass rock records that can resuscitate tired trends and eliminate hybrid genres. Get this album and support this band.
The Body Electric is a solid album.
5.0 Out Of 5.0
