Tribute to...Parachutes

    Unless you are waist deep in the Post-Rock, Sigur Rós or Icelandic music scene, you may have never heard of the band that was Parachutes. A "Tribute to..." post seems fitting, in this case not because of their magnanimity, but because they are long defunct--quit touring, recording and all that other stuff that bands do--as of 2009, and because I just discovered their music recently for the first time. Formed in 2003 by Alex Somers and Scott Alario, the group expanded eventually to include Þórdís Björt Sigþórsdóttir, Tinna Jóhanna Magnusson, Björn Pálmi Pálmason, Kári Hólmar Ragnarsson, Brendan Glasson, and Aaron Borucki. Some of you might know that Alex Somers is the same person who did Riceboy Sleeps with Jónsi. Named after dandelion seeds, Parachutes often utilized the most mundane and simple objects to produce sounds, such as toys or child size glockenspiels. You can see this in some of the videos I will link to later on in this post. Anyway, in 2009, Parachutes declared on their MySpace their choice to disband and left the world with only a small discography as a free download, perhaps to say "sorry" to their fans, because they were in my opinion starting to write excellent songs.

    From what I have gathered, Parachutes first release was a self-titled album, Parachutes (2003), with seven tracks of ambient, atmospheric and acoustic beauty. They were tidbits, short instrumental songs that were more like ideas of something bigger, and somewhat poorly recorded. You can listen to them in full on YouTube here (#'s 1-7 in playlist). The second track, "Alligator" (#2 in playlist), is as close to a real song as Parachutes gets, with murmered singing.

    Parachutes second release was another full album, Susy (2004), name after a dog they knew in Italy where they recorded. Here, a higher quality recording and a more song-like structure is starting to emerge. I would even venture a guess that Parachutes was striving for a lo-fi sound at times, like an old recording or TV that has a crackle or mist. There is a gentle glow about all the tracks, especially with all the metallic noises they create with toys or bells of sorts against the hum of their voices or piano. I think they might have even created their own loops, without doing so electronically, which is a feat in itself and very cool. Either that or they recorded parts and then edited them into the whole that you now hear. Listen to Susy in its entirety on YouTube here (#'s 8-18 in playlist). One of the best and most discernible tracks is "Bugs" (#15 in playlist).

    Their third release, which is kind of two in one, is their Tree Roots EP (2008). I believe this was five tracks (1-"Your Stories", 2-"Tree Roots turn to Forts", 3-"Where Were You?, 4-"Paper Bird(s?), 5-"Birdpumkin"), but some places I have found information online about it only list three (leave off the last two). Regardless, their Tree Roots EP also became their "Tour EP" to the best of my researched knowledge (If someone who knows better could back this information up with a link or something that would be appreciated! There is also a "Demo" album floating around that includes four of these songs and an additional one, "Grass Leaves"-- #24 in playlist. It's cover is the header picture I used for this post, so due to its shape I wonder if it was a cassette tape?). The first three songs from Tree Roots EP are at another level, in quality and song format. It had somewhat more of the pop inspired sound that Jónsi and/or Sigur Rós is famous for too. They include violin and trombone as well as regular members of their band. You can listen to the entire Tree Roots EP on YouTube here (#'s 19-23 in playlist). Especially listen to "Your Stories" (#19 in playlist).

    I leave you with a live video recording on YouTube, here (#'s 25-27 in playlist), of Parachutes performing "Of Sleep", "Tree Roots Turn to Forts" and "All Along" for the Icelandic Airwaves podcast in Alex Somer's living room. You see some great views of what they use to create some of the sounds you may have heard throughout this post. I hope you have found this "Tribute to..."  informative and interesting. Parachutes was a band that I wish had not stopped playing, just when they were getting really good too. Finally, I have linked "Tree Roots Turn to Forts" over under the 'Monthly Sample Tracks' just for good measure. Enjoy!