Para Lia is an alterative rock / post-punk duo from Cottbus in Germany and consists of multi-instrumentalist René Methner and vocalist Cindy Methner. In Clash With The Zeitgeist is their new album and was released on 04/09/2023.

Creating music that can in no way be considered mainstream, this pair have a knack of combining a multitude of genres to create a sound that is almost unique to them. They both have a love of late 80’s / early 90’s indie rock and they have combined this with psychedelic rock, garage rock and early prog rock as well as mixing in some 60’s influences too.

The album is an 11-track offering, released via the Berlin label, About Us Records, and mastered by Thommy Hein at Tonstudios, Berlin.

With its foundations in the alternative rock genre (which is quite a broad one in my opinion) this album leans more towards the psychedelic and experimental side of things and is done so with great musicianship and professionalism.

The music is quite laid back, with gentle drumming and guitar work, although all instruments can be, and are, taken up a notch or two when they need to be, creating different timing and pacing throughout the album. These changes in time and pace are really what gives the music is progressive edge and there is always something for the listener to engage with.

The tracks where the tempo is a bit more upbeat have a fuzzy, almost grungey feel to them and this is provided by the use of distortion on the guitar work, and the drum and bass work is more energetic and frenetic.

The guitar solos throughout the album are classic in style and complete each track with a stoner rock vibe too.

Vocally, this is a great album too, and the vocals make the perfect accompaniment for the music behind them. The combination of the quite deep, almost baritone male voice and the more high-pitched female vocals creates a depth to the songs and each compliments the other seamlessly.

To be able to include influences from so many genres in one album, and to do it well, is not an easy thing to do but these guys have managed to do just that! This is a great album that has quite a nostalgic yet modern feel and will appeal to fans of a wide range of music types.

Check them out!

Track Listing:

1 Like Always

2 Sunchild

3 All That It Takes

4 What We Always Wanted

5 C’est La Vie

6 Will You Find Me

7 Yellow Rose

8 Already Came To Know

9 Mr Perry

10 Nagual

11 Sunchild (reprise)

This review is the property of The Metal Asylum