“Please, welcome back the master of melancholy” writes German rock distributor Just for Kicks, referring to Matthew Parmenter and his latest solo album, “All Our Yesterdays.” The album’s cover portrays the artist posing in an antique 18th century overcoat that might recall Edgar Allen Poe, though upon listening a more 21st century schizoid man is revealed. The UK’s Bad Elephant Music label, which has released Parmenter’s album globally, writes “‘All Our Yesterdays’ is a stunning piece of work, best experienced as a single, all-encompassing musical odyssey.” Renowned producer Terry Brown (Rush, Fates Warning) has mixed “All Our Yesterdays,” with mastering by Grammy award winning engineer Peter Moore. Paul Dzendzel of Discipline guests on drums.
Parmenter has a knack for finding peculiar and at times uncomfortable subjects in the ten tracks that make up “All Our Yesterdays.” The opener “Scheherazade” assumes the identity of a jealous king, transforming the legendary hearer of the classic Arabian tales from audience to narrator. The album’s title track, taking its text from a Shakespearean soliloquy, echoes the tragic utterance of yet another tyrannical king. Elsewhere shadows abound, from the subterranean “I am a Shadow” to the foreboding “All for Nothing” which supposes, “breath or a delicate wing…such are the shapes of the vast migration.” The upbeat “Stuff in the Bag” dramatizes a subconscious need to project disowned thoughts and behaviors onto others. “Digital” reimagines online ephemera as a transference of the desire to leave behind something far-reaching and permanent. “Inside,” perhaps the most accessible track, explores the healing power of sexual contact.
Matthew Parmenter All Our Yesterdays
Best known as the lead singer of the Detroit progressive rock band Discipline, Parmenter is no stranger to acting out characters in song. Heidi Olmac of Detroit’s Orbit newspaper writes “Discipline weaves a wicked web of lush, whimsical melodies, cynical stories and melancholy theatrics – so disturbing some fans have pegged lead-man Matthew Parmenter as ‘unstable.'” In his mime-faced alter ego, “the Magic Acid Mime,” Parmenter has performed with the Discipline band since they formed in the late 1980s. The costume-clad vocalist sought to bring the band’s songs to life on stage, not unlike his influential predecessors Peter Gabriel and David Bowie.
Parmenter has appeared at progressive rock festivals with Discipline and as a solo act. Notable solo performances include the Convention Terra Incognita (Quebec, Canada), the Gouveia Art Rock festival (Gouveia Portugal), NEARfest North East Art Rock Festival (Bethlehem Pennsylvania USA), ProgDay (Chapel Hill North Carolina USA), and the Orion Progressive Rock Showcase (Baltimore Maryland USA).
live at NEARfest 2005, photo by Jeff Pearce
| Matthew Parmenter as the Magic Acid Mime from Discipline. Live 1995 DVD (2008 Strung Out Records) |
 |
Two previous solo albums were released on the independent Strung Out Records label, “Astray” (2004), and “Horror Express” (2008). The Discipline band is now recording what will be its fifth studio album.
As a result of Discipline’s UK performance at the 2015 Summers End festival, Parmenter became acquainted with executives of the Bad Elephant Music (BEM) label. A few weeks after the show the label signed Parmenter and scheduled to release “All Our Yesterdays” in early 2016. BEM label Head of PR Martin Hutchinson writes, “The brilliant songwriting, haunting melodies and sheer emotion that emanate from this striking record make it one of the most intriguing releases for next year already. We’re very excited and proud that Matthew has decided to come aboard and take the next step in his illustrious career with us.”
Matthew Parmenter’s solo album “All Our Yesterdays” is available worldwide from Bad Elephant Music.
 |
 |
For more information, visit www.strungoutrecords.com.