Louche balladeer drawls on broader canvas
A distant relative of Sir Hubert Parry, composer of the hymn "Jerusalem", the classically trained Parry has previously made two low-key albums of dark, jazzy chamber pop. More Love and Death is, commendably, a much more ambitious project, it's epic semi-orchestral arrangements creating a grand backdrop for the piano-playing singer's gravelled (Tom Waits-ish) growls and sardonic (Leonard Coheb-y) ruminations. Parry's poems of morbid carnality and romance are framed by heavy velvet curtains of stylized theatrical gloom - his bass player is called David Lynch, after all.