[06.02] Temporary Residence has been putting out a lot of great so-called post-rock from bands like Fridge, Explosions in the Sky and Tarantel. Parlour's debut seems to fit into that bill nicely. Recorded over the last four years, Parlour is the latest project by Tim Furnish (of Crain, Aerial M, The For Carnation, and art-rockers Cerebellum), and marks his return after a bit of a hiatus.

At first listen, what comes to mind is Canadian outfit Do Make Say Think…maybe because I listened to their first one right before listening to Octopus Off-Broadway. Beyond the fact that it's meandering instrumental rock, Parlour has some of the same airy, jazzy jam feeling, though a lot less electronic. But there's some definite kraut-rock here and at times it's a bit like Air playing Can minus the cheesy pop and freak-outs.

What you do get is retro swooshes of sound, gentle strums of guitars and space-out loops. The drums are tight and drive the sound forward, as the guitars and keys repeat patterns that gradually branch out and explore new angles to the themes they start out with. It all takes a while to sink in, but it is never inaccessible. Sometimes it's downright lovely, like in the last track, "The Living Beginning," rich with a languid, looping guitar riff over lush synths, which I'm sure Kid Loco would chomp at the bit to remix.

As a friend of mine loves to point out—a lot of the post-rock I love bears many of the hallmarks of prog-rock. I've always hated prog, but perhaps I tend to associate that with hopelessly pretentious drivel coupled with long beards, pan-flutes and endless freak-out solos. Perhaps I am missing something, but at least this generation of art-rockers wears sensible clothing. While Parlour can be noodly, it's in an understated, good way. This is a nice soundtrack to a train ride on a gray day—meditative, somewhat introspective and layered with patterns that are continually rewarding as each layer peels off. —Nils