Artist Spotlight | Parachute Words Confront Climate Change
Parachute Words’ latest offering might seem pretty summery for December but their message about global warming is sure to bring the heat.
Parachute Words continue on a roll after shifting from the bedroom to the studio. ‘Sunshine!!’ opens with a wide stereo image full of varying guitar textures from Martino Gasparrini and Tony Lea. The bouncy guitar is underpinned by bass from Ollie Cox and kicked into gear with energetic drums from James Knoer/George Baker. This skilled ensemble is topped off with some violin from Rosa Fisher that jumps out of the mix to give a unique edge to the track.
The energy and warmth of ‘Sunshine!!’ only tell one side of the story. Gasparrini’s vocals introduce a typical summer scene—great weather and cool water at the beach. This image gradually gives way to a more hostile reality. Flooding landmasses and sharks close to the shore are real, loud concerns. Parachute Words pair this warning with a slightly more surreal subplot of a post-apocalyptic gun fight on the beach. The mixture of very real—and very imminent—consequences of global warming combined with the slightly more surrealist beach battle storyline creates a song that manages to be gravely serious whilst still light and fun.
The sarcastic chorus epitomises this juxtaposition chanting, “the sun is shining always brighter”. One is likely to find themselves singing along, or even dancing, before realising the serious message. This is an intelligent feat of songwriting that keeps the song appealing and enjoyable whilst spreading its intended message.
Martino Gasparrini’s gradual development from solo projects at home to full-band studio recording is a pleasure to witness. The improvements in sound quality and songwriting are as expected. However, the DIY attitude that bred Parachute Words’ aesthetic has been lovingly maintained and translated to more polished products. The resulting honesty and rough-around-the-edges feel is incredibly endearing and shows a well struck balance of development and homage to the band’s roots. Parachute Words are clearly in it for the long haul. I’m looking forward to what comes next and you should be too.
