Child of the Parish kicked off the campaign ahead of the September 6th release of their debut album ‘Sweet Surrender’ in style. Its lead single ‘Always The Fool’ landed a Radio 1 Future Artists play from Sian Eleri, who described them as “the most exciting new name to get behind,” while its profile was further boosted by a strong spread of Spotify playlists, led by New Music Friday. Now the duo keep that momentum flying high as they share its second track ‘Swim With The Tide’.
Best known for their heady, euphoric vibes, Child of the Parish go deeper with ‘Swim With The Tide’. This time around their psychedelic touch leans into mid-summer melancholy, with soft disco beats rippling in the background alongside colourful flourishes of noughties indie which brings to mind Empire of the Sun, Tame Impala or M83. Ben Vella’s lead vocals are complemented by luscious, sleek harmonies, while the song’s undeniable class is heightened by the celestial strings that sweep it to its finale.
Lyrically, it’s a song that reflects on their experiences within the music industry, and especially coming to terms with the realisation that an artist has little control over the direction their career will take. But its broader themes – regret over time wasted, not making the most of opportunities, fear for what comes next – are all instantly relatable. ‘Swim With The Tide’ was the second song that Ben and Tom Vella wrote for Child of the Parish, and is also their personal favourite.
Ben says, “You can spend years planning, thinking you’ve worked out the jigsaw, but you’ve got no real power. You can obsess as much as you like, but I think it’s important to accept that you will never have as much control as you think you’d like. So ‘Swim with the Tide’ is an expression of… not giving up, but certainly not caring quite so much.”
‘Swim With The Tide’ and ‘Always The Fool’ hint at the contrasts that Child of the Parish have crafted with the ‘Sweet Surrender’ album. Euphoria and sadness are intertwined through, predominantly with tough emotional experiences wrapped up in joyous, retro-future disco productions. The Vella brothers produced the album themselves, with mixing and engineering provided by Shuta Shinoda (Hot Chip, Spiritualised, Daughter).
Tom Vella’s background as an artist and DJ signed to Black Butter, while Ben’s array of adventures included working with Kylie Minogue and playing an oud in a documentary about the war in Afghanistan. They hadn’t worked on a serious project together until inspiration struck when they were at Glastonbury together, where they were enthused by the idea of started a project that could blur and unite their most kaleidoscopic shared influences: LCD Soundsystem, Daft Punk, Simian Mobile Disco, The Chemical Brothers, Tame Impala, M83 and Beck.
Their first two EPs, ‘Make It Better’ and ‘Quiet Life’, established a groundswell of tastemaker support, with airplay spanning Radio 1, 6 Music and BBC Introducing as well as a sold-out headline show for BBC Introducing. But they suffered a tragedy with the loss of their friend and collaborator Rich Brown, who had helped shape a lot of the visual universe around those early EPs. At times they wondered if they could even continue with Child in the Parish, but they knew they had to press on against the odds. Now ‘Sweet Surrender’ is almost upon us, its alchemised bliss perfectly suited to helping you to dance your way out of the dark.
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