A compelling and energetic live act, Australian indie-funk band Parcels have made their name on danceable disco hits that prioritise fun. On their self-titled debut, however, the band offer up an inconsistent collection of tracks that only hint at their potential. Despite being largely well produced, the energy from the opening track ‘Comedown’, typically used as their euphoric set closer, is stripped away as the record progresses.

This subdued sound, which is present throughout, points to an album with an identity crisis. Parcels explores funk, indie and electronica to varying degrees of success. ‘Tape’ sounds little more than Vampire Weekend-lite, and it’s the first major sign of trouble on an album which steadily loses momentum.

‘Everyroad’, an almost nine-minute opus, feels like a less accomplished cousin of the sprawling epics that Daft Punk (who produced the band’s biggest single, ‘Overnight’) turned their hands to on 2013’s Random Access Memories. Worse still is ‘Yourfault’, an eighties-style ballad delivered without the slightest hint of irony.

That’s not to say that there isn’t some enjoyment to be had with Parcels. ‘Lightenup’ is an undeniably danceable number with a staccato guitar riff that finds the band fully embracing their disco pastiche. Complete with a jazz flute solo in its concluding thirty seconds, it’s a fleeting reminder to fans why they got into Parcels in the first place. Similarly, ‘Tieduprightnow’ is a track dripping in sunshine and deserves to make the cut on any retrospective Summer 2018 playlist.

The tragedy of these two tracks is that they bookend an over-long, 52-minute album of cleanly-produced but ultimately forgettable songwriting. Why the band chose not to include previous hits ‘Overnight’, ‘Older’ and ‘Myenemy’ in the tracklisting is unclear, and it’s decisions like this that have resulted in an album that, sadly, fails to translate a brilliant live band into a successful recording artist.

Tom Paul