Parsnip and The Shifters are two of the most interesting bands coming out of Australia in recent years, and tiny French label Future Folklore have taken it upon themselves to pair them for a split 12″ release. Hip Blister is named after one of the Parsnip tracks, that was actually recorded back in 2016 – possibly making it their oldest track released so far. Both the title track and “Counterfeit” are fully perfected pop songs that would have been hits in any decade – except this one. If you ask me, I can’t for the life of me understand why teens would listen to anything but Parsnip.
Well, perhaps The Shifters in that case. Their album from late 2019 (released by US label Trouble In Mind) cemented them as The Real New Fall. After a tape release and a handful of 45s, The Shifters Have a Cunning Plan seemed to portray the group at their artistic zenith. But I’ll be damned if “Photo Op” from the new split isn’t their best track yet – including some tinny organ straight off a The Clean record. Hip Blister was a announced already back in the beginning of 2019, but now it’s finally available.
