YOU RE IN BOTH DREAMS AND YOU RE SCARED

Description

If you have seen David Lynch's classic film, Mulholland Dr., you might recognize the title of Pærish's third full-length album, You're In Both Dreams (And You're Scared). It's a line spoken by one of the two men having a conversation in the film's incongruous dinner scene. Pærish's singer/guitarist Mathias Court was watching the film for perhaps the tenth time last year, and given the insecurity of being a musician during the COVID pandemic, that line stood out to him like never before. Since Pærish was formed when Court was in film school with bassist Martin Dupraz, it’s not surprising that the band – now completed by guitarist Frédéric Wah and drummer Loic Fouquet – uses a cinematic reference for its title. Their first two records were sprinkled with such references, and many of their songs began with Court playing his guitar while watching something in the hope of capturing the emotion of whatever was on screen. This time, the title is the only thing directly inspired by the moving image. While on the 2016 semi-finalists and 2021's Fixed It All, Court used the art of others to draw parallels with what he was feeling, this time, it is his own internal struggles that influenced his writing. In December 2021, Court had demoed the album. A year later, Pærish flew to Philadelphia to record with Will Yip. The band's familiarity with Yip gives a natural confidence to this album that refutes the very insecurities that inspired it. It has become the album Pærish has always wanted to make. "When I listen to these songs," says Court, "I almost don't realize it's our album. I feel like we've gotten even closer to our final form. This is the one we've wanted since we were kids. I'm so proud of it."