Parlour is the third album released by virtual band "The Third Space".

Much like the first and second albums overlapped, so did the second and third. They kind of blended into each other. Many of the ideas (riffs, snatches of melody; lyrical snatches; motifs) for the record were generated in the early summer 2013: songs like “Sorrow”; “Successful

Parlour is the third album released by virtual band "The Third Space".

Much like the first and second albums overlapped, so did the second and third. They kind of blended into each other. Many of the ideas (riffs, snatches of melody; lyrical snatches; motifs) for the record were generated in the early summer 2013: songs like “Sorrow”; “Successful People” and “The Joys Of Your Love”. Henk and frequent collaborator William Manwaring recorded demos for these in late summer and early autumn. Then there was a lull whilst work continued on albums one and two. As our “editor-in-chief”, Joe then spent part of March and April 2014 listening to and polishing those demos he considered “up-to-scratch”, including the songs mentioned above. Others he recommended we abandon; and others still warranted re-writing. Consequently, Henk spent part of April 2014 rewriting guitar parts for songs like “Betty” and “Crusades”; and re-writing the verses of “Fear Of Others” in spoken word format. They were finally polished into their present format in June 20014. Kevin mixed them in early July, 2014.

This is also the record where Joe makes his debut as songwriter in The Third Space. Although Joe had historically written songs for various bands he was in as a teenager and young man (“Eleat”; “Inside Out”), had also written “Song For Angus” on our second album, “Losing With Grace” alone, and had contributed plenty in terms of melody, harmony, bridges, chord changes, riffs and the rest to all the other Third Space songs, up until now, Henk had been the principal songwriter. However, on “Roots” we see Joe growing as a songwriter, contributing “Bulldog” and “Monkey In My Head”. Although as part of The Third Space ethos, we credit each other as co-writers, really Joe wrote both of these by himself.

There are probably four motifs on the record: love; politics; finitude and interpersonal relationships.

Love is the theme of songs like “Red” (a rumination on a long-lost love, “…the one who got away…”), “Piece of Me” (about obsessive love) and as its title suggests, “The Joys of Our Love”; politics form the backdrop of both “Crusades” and “Fear of Others”; finitude the plaintive “Sorrow” and inter-personal relationships the Joe-penned “Bulldog” (which references the Beatles’ “Hey Bulldog”) and “Monkey in my Head” (both about run-ins with people he knows) and the Henk-penned “Successful People (Are Seldom Sarcastic”), which was a response to a gratuitous sarcastic comment he had received.

The name for the record “Parlour” was also something of a pun. Given the “finitude” motif it referenced funeral parlours; but the “politics” motif (as well as the philosophical nature of pondering upon finitude) referenced the political salons (or “Parlours”) of Enlightenment era Europe.

But that is me retrofitting the title to the songs. In truth, there is also a third dimension to the name. As an ardent Arsenal fan and season-ticket holder, I wanted to lionise Ray Parlour, the Gooners’ Essex-born midfield engine from the 1990s. Never much of a flair player, he was nevertheless much loved by us Arsenal fans. The reason was his work ethos and down-to-earth nature. He was a real grafter, who just tried very hard and looked like he was enjoying it. We could really relate to that. Maybe The Third Space is a bit like that. We make up in enthusiasm and graft what we lack in flair. And enjoy doing it!

Track listing:

1) Wonder 2) Piece of Me 3) Crusades 4) Joys Of Your Love 5) Betty 6) Sorrow 7) Bulldog 8) Red 9) Successful People (Are Seldom Sarcastic) 10) Fear Of Others

Drums: Max Saidi Drum Programming: Joe Farthing Bass: Joe Farthing; Hendrik Kleinsmiede; Will Manwaring Guitar: Joe Farthing; Hendrik Kleinsmiede; Will Manwaring Keys: Joe Farthing; Will Manwaring Brass: Pro Studios Vocals: Joe Farthing; Hendrik Kleinsmiede

Produced by: Kevin Paul