STRFKR

Name: STRFKR
Start: 2024-07-26T20:00:00-07:00
Location: Showbox SoDo

Schedule

Fri Jul 26 2024 at 08:00 pm

UTC-07:00

Location

Showbox SoDo | Seattle, WA

Showbox Presents
STRFKR
with Holy Wave and Ruth Radelet
FRI, 26 JUL 2024 at 08:00PM PDT
Ages: All Ages to Enter, 21 & Over to Drink
Doors Open: 09:00PM
OnSale: Fri, 12 Jan 2024 at 10:00AM PST
Announcement: Tue, 9 Jan 2024 at 07:00AM PST
In a journey that’s been taking new directions since it started, every step of the way has ledSTRFKR to Parallel Realms. The band’s energetic, danceable pop has assumed many formssince they first emerged in 2007, always reliably delivering unshakeable melodies andlarger-than-life anthems infused with intellectually challenging lyrics. In recent years, STRFKRexplored more experimental waters when they constructed a fuzzy dream world with theirhome-recorded 2020 album Future Past Life or subtracted structure entirely from fullyinstrumental collection Ambient 1. New album Parallel Realms finds yet another path,redefining the kind of direct, high-impact songwriting that’s long been the core of the band’sstrongest material. Streamlined and immediate, the album distills STRFKR’s 15 plus years ofartistic growth without forfeiting any of the perspective they’ve gained along the way. It’s theirclearest, most organized, and most exciting work yet.As with many other albums, Parallel Realms started with sorting through a mountain of ideaslooking for inspiration. While combing through stacks of partially-realized demos, it becameclear that the most interesting songs all had a consistent playfulness to them. A through-line ofupbeat fun gradually came into view, with a joyous vibe that sometimes bordered on ‘80s synthpop euphoria. STRFKR followed this impulse further, digging back through their archives toseek out songs that hadn’t made sense until now, but matched the specific uplifting feeling thatwas becoming the connective tissue for the new album.Subconscious lyrical patterns started arising, as well, repeatedly circling back to the idea of howdifferent people can experience the same thing from wildly different emotional vantage points.This kind of parallel intake served as the inspiration for many of the songs, and ultimately thetitle of the album. Songs gelled around this concept quickly. Relentlessly hooky, “TogetherForever” uses its rubbery bass line and melodic instrumentation to express different sides of thefrustration and satisfaction of love. “Holding On” ping-pongs through tormented indecisionabout keeping a relationship alive or letting it go with a dreamy instrumental that sounds likesunbeams tearing apart the sky. Dark-yet-bubbly single “Armatron” evolves from tension totenderness, mirroring a heated lover’s argument that settles into softness when tempers cool.This is reflected in how the song’s sassiness transitions into a more introspective feel in itssecond half, and is one of many moments on the album that STRFKR arrived at throughheightened collaboration, not just between the band members, but with valuable input fromnetwork of trusted friends and advisors. For a band used to getting into the weeds with theirhighly controlled writing process, everything fell into place almost a little too effortlessly. Atsome point, though, they made a conscious decision to step out of their own way, notovercomplicate things, and just let the album come together around this new, singular energy.This approach continued into the album’s recording phase. The band returned to thestripped-down mindset they’d used when making Future Past Life, but instead of that record’spsychedelic blurriness, they applied uncluttered, no-nonsense arrangements to electro-popbangers. The abrupt gear-shifting and experimental detours of previous albums are reshapedinto concise, song-serving flashes. Minute-long ambient interludes provide palate cleansersbetween immediately catchy floor-filling dance tracks, and neither overstay their welcome. Whatreally rocketed the album past the finish line was handing over mixing duties to Chris Coady(Beach House, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Blonde Redhead). This marked the most hands-off STRFKR
has ever been with the final step of any of their records, relinquishing control and just lettingCoady work his magic. This followed Parallel Realms’ tendency toward collective creation, andCoady’s mixing rivaled anything the band had achieved before. The rhythm sections are huge,the hooks are crystalline, and the entire album gels into a cohesive, dynamic whole. Gone areany hints of “indie” caliber production; these songs sound enormous, with a level of glitter thatcontends with modern commercial radio hits.More than anything STRFKR has made before, Parallel Realms carries a triumphant sense ofrenewal. Though never implicitly stated, the elevated sound, straightforward songwriting, andespecially unclouded vision of the album all convey the feeling of breaking through to newpossibilities. Somehow, this many years into an ever-changing evolution, STRFKR has madesome of their most accessible music yet while still furthering the introspective thinking andself-imposed challenges that have always pushed their art forward. Parallel Realms courses withpositivity even in its heaviest moments. It sounds incredible, it encapsulates untold hours ofmultiple lives committed to making beauty out of song, and above anything else, it feelswonderful.