Labels: Fika Recordings
Review by: MH
I liked that “Lesser Pop” record that Frozy put out last year quite a lot. In fact, I listened to it again the other day and it’s had regular airtime at home since it came out. Palomica is Frozy’s Nicol Parkinson’s “home-recorded clumsy rock and roll project” so I was delighted to see this appear in the digital review pile. I’m under the impression that he plays and records this all himself but when Palomica perform live Nicol enlists a number of members of everyone’s favourite UK DIY indie pop bands. A few seconds in and it’s clear that this is a decidely more energetic and noisier affair than “Lesser Pop” but Nicol’s recognisable vocals are at the forefront of the 8 tracks on offer and it’s still got that ramshackle charm that Frozy have for me. There are also little parts here and there that really do sound like Frozy like the slow part towards the end of opening track “Ribbons” as well as some more delicate moments interspersed throughout. “Actual Sighs”, halfway through the record, shows a more experimental, droney side before Rosie from Oh Peas! joins in on vocals on “Honeydew” which highlights Nicol’s knack for quirky songwriting (stuff goes wrong while cooking and there are a plethora of fruit metaphors in this song – “My heart feels like a lemon that someone’s abandoned in the wrong aisle”) and is probably the closest to a Frozy song on here. It’s also as perfect a slice of indie pop as I’m likely to hear all year. There’s a definite experimentation to some of the songs with a variety of sounds and instruments on show too. “Big Black Clouds” is in turns weird, delicate, noisy and experimental with all sorts of sounds, field recordings and tangents and makes for a lovely track to end things on.