Porcelain Parrot releases her most defining body of work to date, “bygones,” a 6-track emotional exhale that reverses time just long enough to start something new. An even blend of space emo, shoegaze, and avant-garde alt-rock, “bygones” dances through chaos with noisy grace and unabashed heart.
Recorded by Jacqueline Davis (guitar, vocals), the EP is the final loose end of the former project, piecing together old stakes, memories of drunk friends, and raw basement recordings before the band became a live act, forming a stable lineup for what’s next. It’s the sound of a band in flux, wistful, electric, emotionally heightened.
It opens with the ferociously kinetic “13 Years,“ which immediately establishes a mood of twisted memory and self-interrogation, exploring Davis’s experience with ADHD and a wayward path to self-awareness. From that, “bygones” jumps into the pogo-ready punk stepper “post office,“ originally cut live in the session that spawned it, about running into an ex by accident. Simple, loud, and seriously catchy.
“firehead“ explores the heartbreak of high school friendships frayed by disharmony, and it hurts without suffocating, as it navigates the delicate balance between rawness and indifference. Meanwhile, “mist“ is here as the sole live recording, an injection of life into the uncertainty and the pain of being jilted. The track’s raw immediacy and smashing emotion render it one of the most unforgettable on the whole project.
On “wrististance,“ Porcelain Parrot embraces societal norms that weigh on her as she confronts toxic masculinity and explores love and identity through layers of fuzzed-out guitars and introspective lyrics. And finally, there is “lilikoi (lonesome),“ a hushed scorcher that was penned in a waterless Hawaiian cabin. It closes the EP with dreamlike vocals and poetic exposure and openness, allowing heartbreak to echo against analog tape like waves.
With thick layering, du-wops, glitchy experiments, and analog warmth thanks to vintage gear like the Avalon VT737, bygones reads like a flip through some scrapbook comprised of distortion pedals and diary entries. It’s clean but loud, sharp but hot, and, most of all, honest. Porcelain Parrot is letting bygones be bygones and along with it, the weight of an era they are eager to put behind themselves.
Connect with Porcelain Parrot on Instagram – @porcelainparrot
