Picture Parlour talk doing things on their own terms, rock'n'roll spirit, and their awaited debut album 'The Parlour' • Interview • DIY Magazine

Aura. Perhaps a word that’s thrown around too easily these days, it’s nevertheless one that continues to creep up the popular vocabulary ladder, settling into day-to-day conversations. From there comes the term ‘aura farming’, a dig at the try-hards who force out their nonchalance, usually with little success.

Listening to Picture Parlour’s music, however, results in an aura overdose. Everything about Katherine Parlour (vocals, guitar) and Ella Risi (lead guitar) is gloriously effortless, like the way debut album opener ‘Cielo Drive’ struts forward on its catwalk, or the ever-presence of Katherine’s sunglasses, speaking to DIY inside an east London cab. “I was so drawn to and confused by you, when we first met,” agrees a glowing Ella. “I’ve never met somebody like you.” Katherine smiles, as she brushes the compliments off her light beige jacket. “Who’s paid you to say that…”

Since that lightbulb moment at The Castle in Manchester, before bubbling together in lockdown, Ella and Katherine’s brief journey as Picture Parlour (later completed by drummer Michael Nash and, recently, touring musicians Joey Django and Kitty Fitz) has been more of a hurricane than a whirlwind.

2023 was the eye of the storm; they gained a fan in Courtney Love and earned a festival slot with Bruce Springsteen off the back of their live show, before debut single ‘Norwegian Wood’ had even landed. The industry buzz that followed the single’s release resulted in naysayers who tried to rip them apart, sneering ‘industry plant’ and belittling the word-of-mouth buzz they had built since relocating from Manchester to London. Understandably, the duo needed some time to retreat and recalibrate. “It scarred us a little bit,” admits Katherine, two-and-a-half years down the line. “It was a super conscious decision to put a pause on everything, [and reject] running with the wind to try and catch this buzzy moment.”

In an age where artists are constantly pressurised to capitalise on momentum, it’s proven vital that Picture Parlour acted to prevent things from spilling over. If they were not so “locked in” with one another, trusting the fact that they had each other’s backs, Ella suggests things might have gone differently.

“We opened the door to what we thought were our dreams, and everything in the room was on fire,” continues Katherine. “We closed the door, and promised each other that we’ll follow our instincts. Our idols, like Joan Jett, are people who demand control of their own destiny. You can hear it in the music, there’s this confidence and stubbornness. I don’t think that the greats made the legacy that they’ve got out of being ‘yes’ people.”

“ ‘The Parlour’ was this emotional or mental space that we kept going back to.”

— Katherine Parlour

Channelling the spirit of legends like Jett, as well as David Bowie and The White Stripes, the duo’s “semi self-titled” debut album, ‘The Parlour’ is finally imminent. Written between London, Katherine’s hometown of Liverpool (Ella is originally from North Yorkshire) and Nashville, where it was recorded in September 2024, ‘The Parlour’ globetrotted its way into existence. So, how do we find this self-styled ‘parlour’?

“Even we don’t know the location,” laughs Katherine, “but we always end up there somehow!” adds Ella, finishing her bandmate’s sentence – a common theme throughout our conversation. “‘The Parlour’ was this emotional or mental space that we kept going back to,” returns the frontwoman. “When we eventually went to Nashville…” “We brought ‘The Parlour’ with us!” carries on Ella. “It’s based on the places where we met; a homage to all the places that inspired this project. We wanted to [fill] out a fictional place – it sounds so wanky! We’ve had throughlines in all the videos, little Easter eggs and trinkets, like the bag which holds all the objects and artefacts of ‘The Parlour’.”

Revealing itself to the band midway through the process, the concept enabled the pair to flesh out their audiovisual universe, playing into the drama and theatrics that they both love about music, be it Bowie’s ‘Diamond Dogs’ or the “cinematic” edge to one of Katherine’s recent obsessions, Ethel Cain. Some of ‘The Parlour’ was quite literally written while a fight scene from ‘Kill Bill’ played in the background.

“It never occurred to us that not doing it that way could be an option,” suggests Ella, when DIY asks how ‘The Parlour’ developed into the multi-sensory beast it has now become. “For each song, we set a mood – where is this set? Who’s the main character? With Queens of the Stone Age and Father John Misty, who inspired the record, it’s all quite dramatic, OTT. That’s something we wanted to inject into our process.”

“I was so drawn to and confused by [Katherine] when we first met.”

— Ella Risi

April’s gripping lead single, ‘Who’s There To Love Without You?’, underlines this ethos. Its sinister riff-work would make The Raconteurs proud, while Katherine’s gnarly voice conjures back up the energy of the ’70s. Its music video provides some sort of material form for ‘The Parlour’, as Katherine parades through dimly lit corridors to stumble across the carefree thrills of the dancefloor – and later, Ella.

“How am I nostalgic at 24?” she once sang on ‘Ronnie’, a track on 2024’s ‘Face In The Picture’ EP. Here lies the thrilling mystery of Picture Parlour, who are able to seamlessly transport us back five decades, to a period they’re thirty years too young to remember in real time. Many bands have tried – and failed – to tastefully recreate classic rock, but Picture Parlour pull it off, lighting a fire that still sounds wickedly fresh.

“The honest answer would be growing up with a dad who loves music – I guess he’s a 6 Music dad!” answers Katherine. “He would feed me with Fleetwood Mac and Joan Jett, and he’s a huge Northern Soul guy. The unrealistic answer? I feel like Marc Bolan is my spirit animal. Even though we don’t live in the same generation, it’s like ‘The Parlour’. We don’t know where it is, but there’s some connection to it.”

Joking that someone in the industry once described Katherine as “Mott The Hoople reincarnated”, we ask if the world at large could do with more of that old-school attitude that pierces so deeply into this album. “100 per cent,” interjects Katherine. “I don’t want to say anything controversial, but the real authentic rock star has been lost. I know there’s people that would throw names in the hat, and I would disagree. If I could think of one that was in our generation, I know I’d be a megafan.”

“It’s so [tricky] to break through if you don’t have a viral Tiktok,” says Ella. “Such a large element of rock is the live experience, and [artists] can’t afford to play shows,” warns Katherine. “The industry is not catered for rock bands at this time, and that’s a huge reason why there’s no proper rock stars. The rock star today has to work three jobs. We’re so lucky that we got the record deal.”

“I don’t think that the greats made the legacy that they’ve got out of being ‘yes’ people.”

— Katherine Parlour

Thanks to the film ‘Walk The Line’, Katherine was fascinated by one particular legend - Johnny Cash - from a young age. So when the opportunity to record their debut album in Nashville with Gabe Simon presented itself, it was an offer they couldn’t refuse. Despite ‘The Parlour’ taking much of its root in the UK, the “alternate universe” of Nashville, where music is treated like a nine-to-five, helped infuse the record with some of its American twang.

It sounds fantastic on paper, but surely created another challenge of finding comfort in unfamiliar surroundings, to ensure, against the clock, that the album’s final form retained the authenticity and precision that it warranted. It helped that “everyone was so warm, welcoming, inspired and into what we were doing,” beams Ella. “There was a sense of urgency [in Nashville]. If we were getting stuck on an idea, I would descend into madness and stay in the studio all night until I figured it out. But that’s the kind of shit that makes you feel alive. I want to be going insane over this fucking guitar line!”

Whipping ‘The Parlour’ into shape, one Jack Daniels and coke at a time, the end result is a culmination of the duo’s story so far, from the heartfelt balladry of ‘The Travelling Show’ to some of the “frustration and rage” that emanated from the confusion of their breakout period, which they bring onto their own terms via the tongue-in-cheek, playful ‘Talk About It’.

Today, as they finish the conversation on a street-side bench, they are demoing songs for their “darker” second album. Does that mean ‘The Parlour’ is closed for business? “I think we have no choice, we’re stuck with ‘The Parlour’ forever!” jokes Katherine. “The shit that we’re working on now feels like ‘The Parlour’ has been closed down, it’s all rubble, and there’s one old man, still there with his whiskey, refusing to leave. There’s just one candle on, in the corner of the room…”

After stepping back to figure out the type of band they wanted Picture Parlour to be, Ella and Katherine actually now find themselves “10 steps ahead”, deep into their second album before their first has even seen the light of day. Crucially, they tell DIY the pace is now entirely on their terms, ready to “crack on” with a renewed sense of clarity, “that maybe we didn’t have two years ago,” ponders Katherine.

“As they say, hunger is the best sauce, and that’s what I’m living by,” she smirks, before Ella doubles down with the final word. “We are very hungry for it.”

‘The Parlour’ is out now via Island.

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