PINHDAR’s PARALLEL MULTIVERSE
by Kahlil Crawford
Pinhdar is Cecilia Miradoli and Max Tarenzi.
The Milan-based duo is a throwback to the era when blissed-out beats were the preferred soundtrack to after-hours sessions – chill enough to come down to, but hard enough to keep your head nodding. Their sound fits snugly into the narrative of the storied “The Bristol Sound” and its ongoing derivatives.
Pinhdar’s surrealistic take on current reality is consistent with the existential escapism and altered mental states characteristic of the “trip-hop” aesthetic – best-evoked by emotive female vocals washing through abstract compositions.
Pindhar’s second compilation, Parallel, opens with characteristically lush whirs, blips, and bleeps forming “Anacreonte” – an angst-ridden self-reflection occurring during a suicide stemmed by unwanted aging. Next, the “Parallel” title track balances extremes to achieve a Zen-like harmony…
so long so short
so sweet so cruel
Its elements emit a vibrational nothingness – so full, yet so empty. The sparse, stripped down arrangements evoke early Smiths – mood music that only extensive solitude can produce – insightful, yet unburdened; emotional, yet content.
Parallel’s pronounced influence continues through “Glass Soul” – gentle drums pulsate toward a slightly shrill vocal dancing with free-spirited guitar phrasing. Words become wails as Cecilia hopelessly laments the uncertainty of time…
How can we tear these days off the calendar?
By pretending that the worst is over…
…Cause I am emotionally undone
In “Too Late”, Cecilia breathily sorts out her relationship woes amidst warped basslines and distanced guitar licks that suddenly converge to drag her ponderings out to sea. Not only did Cecilia lose her self, but she lost her love…
Today my heart is as dry as an extinguished star
The stellar “Atoms and Dust” is a zeitgeist of this unforeseen era. Humanity has literally been transformed down to the molecular level, and Pinhdar provides a peek into its cosmic implications…
We are atoms and dust
that will fall to the earth…
…when will we return to breath
and chase the stars?
“Atoms and Dust” is one of those era-defining pieces in which the gravity of the lyrics equates the density of the arrangements. In fact, I venture to say this period piece defines the band itself. Like many of its genric predecessors, Parallel will appreciate over time – steadily gaining new listeners as it travels along the existential pathway of thought-provoking “head” music…
