Reconfigured Parsonsfield Looks for Balance on ‘Happy Hour on the Floor’

Parsonsfield’s fourth record, Happy Hour on the Floor, arrives after a period of change for the band. Harrison Goodale, the bassist since the band started, left and Parsonsfield entered a new phase. This upheaval is felt throughout Parsonsfield’s latest release as they blend various genres and ideas for a record that buzzes with energy and refuses to settle.

On some songs, Parsonsfield sing about “euphoric love,” as Chris Freeman describes on “Reykjavik Connection.” This passion is felt on “River Town” too, which is an oasis of love, and “Til I Die,” a song about enduring love. But elsewhere, sadness and loneliness sit where love once was. Freeman opens “Oh My Man” with the heartbreaking question “How are we so close and yet so lonesome?” and on “Emery,” the world is grinding him down: “It’s hard to wake up every day feeling so unsure if this is how it’s supposed to be.”

Like the contrasting lyricism, Parsonsfield also play with disparate sonic textures on Happy Hour. “Now That You’re Gone” is boisterous and ragged sounding as an electronic beat chatters in the background, while “Running River” is a light folk song that holds space for its bright, harmonized melody to roam free.

Happy Hour on the Floor is at its best when the different sides join forces. A driving, euphoric beat is the foundation of “Paper Floor,” which grows louder with each realization that Freeman has as he wrestles with what to do about a stagnant relationship. The closing track, “Sweet Dream,” also juggles the good and the bad of a relationship, this time using a twinkling folktronica soundscape that pleasantly envelops the listener.

On Happy Hour on the Floor, Parsonsfield not only shows off the various sides of the band in its new configuration, but also bottles up the intimacy and playfulness that come with the simple act of, as their album title suggests, drinking a cocktail surrounded by good people as you try and regain stability in your life.