Algernon Cadwallader - Parrot Flies

(Self released, 2011)

RIYL = Cap'n Jazz, Jenoah, early At the Drive-In

This isn’t a huge reveal, but I’m pretty obsessive about At the Drive-In. In particular, their first full length, Acrobatic Tenement. It’s a surefire top-ten-albums-of-all-time for me.

So when I first heard Algernon Cadwallader’s debut, Some Kind of Cadwallader, a couple years back, I was immediately smitten. It feels, aesthetically, to be strung together by the same Scotch tape, string, nimble guitar work and emotive screamability (read: 90’s emo) as Tenement. And, seeing as how I still heavily rotate Cap’n Jazz, Lync, The Nation of Ulysses and the like, Alegernon Cadwallader fits in snugly.

But beyond those nostalgic qualities, Cadwallader manages to be its own band (mostly), which is why they’ve the ability to smitten in the first place. Some Kind of Cadwallader is not Acrobatic Tenement and Parrot Flies is not…well it kind of is still a lot like Some Kind of Cadwallader. But, more goodness is a good thing, not bad.

Parrot Flies feels a little more comfortable with itself, a little less angsty, a little more polished. Still, the MO here is to iron down that sound they began with and Parrot Flies does that. This might be an indulgence, but I think it’s a worthy one. I need more worthy indulgences in my music listening life—seems they’re becoming fewer and farther between.

Algernon Cadwallader - "Parrot Flies" by ForestGospel