The singing of agonized, reflective women over folksy pop and light alt-rock gained significant cachet a couple decades back with Lilith Fair and the female musical empowerment surrounding Sarah McLachlan’s estrogen-intensive festivals. The ideas co-ed Milwaukee combo Parallel pick up from that era’s fecundity of feminine creativity could have rendered them a nostalgia act. But, there’s enough fresh drama in Meredith Ann Sipe’s vocals and Thea Morton Vorass’ cello to give them a fresh take on a style not so prominent on the cultural radar as it once was. In another dimension where 10,000 Maniacs and ’60s classical rockers The Left Banke share a tour bus for a couple of months, something akin to Between The Lines could be the result.
Parallel's album release party takes place Nov. 11 in the performance space on the lower level of Shops at Grand Avenue.
