Oh Mercy- Parlour

It's almost like the old days with Oh Mercy playing monthly gigs in Melbourne at the moment with the imminent release of album number four When We Talk About Love. Tonight's gig was hosted at Magic Johnston in Collingwood by Parlour, a new platform that connects artists with hosts for intimate house shows. Mary, Tash and I got our free mulled wine on arrival and took a seat on the floor for the show. Alex began the evening with a cover of David McComb's "The Good Life Never Ends" and played a set that mainly featured songs off the new album.

It's always such a privilege (not a woe) to get to hear new songs before an album is released, and an added bonus when the renditions are stripped back and acoustic. The standout tracks for me at the moment are "Sandy," "All Roads Lead To You" and "Let Me Be Him." We also got to hear "Catherine," "Iron Cross" and "I Don't Really Want To Know," with Alex joined by Cecilia on viola for many of these songs. Alex was on fire with the puns throughout the night incorporating Jamaica and various Victorian towns (the Euroa one was my favorite). Some tracks from the previous album also made it onto the set list with "My Man," "Deep Heat" and b-side "Lady Eucalyptus" (which is also on the new album with some strings) played. The evening ended with "Without You," and Alex was kind enough to have some albums for sale ahead of the official release next Friday. Don't miss out- order your copy of When We Talk About Love here.

Here's the video for "Without You"