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Omnichord milestones seem to come once every couple decades. Just look at the space between Eurythmics’ “Love Is a Stranger”, Gorillaz’ “Clint Eastwood”, and Meshell Ndegeocello’s Grammy-winning The Omnichord Real Book from last year. From those big three alone, we think it’s fair to say this kooky little electronic contraption’s not just a novelty. Instead its chock full of possibilities, even within genres you might not expect.
For further proof, we can just point to Jenny Parrott. You might’ve seen or heard this Connecticut-born Austinite play with swing folk trio Shotgun Party or with the indie folk duo Loves It!, both of which overlap with another of Parrott’s biggest prides: their solo career. And as Parrott eases into parenthood and approaches their forties, last weekend they released their fourth LP, Love Spell, which is less a full-length seduction and more a fourteen-track foray into the complex spectrum that is that most amorous emotion.
Yes, with a bit of soul, a bit of avant-folk, and plenty of Omnichord, Love Spell is inspiring piece of universal acceptance and eclectic adoration, all bolstered by the Omnichord’s idiosyncratic clicks and blips alongside Parrott’s piercing falsetto. We recommend sitting down with the record in full, starting off with the album opener and music video, “When I’m In Need of a Loving God”, because with its heartwarming harmonies, balance of acoustic, electric and synthetic, and featherweight vocal performance, it’s beautifully profound – no matter your religious upbringing – or lack thereof.
