The Parlour Band - Is A Friend? (Thousand Club)

The Parlour Band - Is A Friend? brings a scarce early-1970s British album back to vinyl as part of the limited Thousand Club series. Originally released in 1972, the record sits at the meeting point of folk rock, melodic progressive music and the pastoral side of the era's British underground. Its appeal comes from carefully layered vocal harmonies, thoughtful original songwriting and arrangements that allow acoustic textures and fuller rock instrumentation to coexist without overwhelming the songs.

Across the album, The Parlour Band favour gradual development over showy excess. The writing has the melodic directness associated with folk rock, but the performances regularly open into longer structures and subtle progressive touches. Tracks such as “Forgotten Dreams,” “Pretty Haired Girl” and “Spring's Sweet Comfort” establish the record's reflective character, while “Early Morning Eyes” and “Follow Me” complete a first side built around close vocal interplay and understated ensemble playing.

The second side continues through “Evening,” “Don't Be Sad,” “Little Goldie” and “To Happiness” before arriving at the seven-and-a-half-minute “Home.” That closing piece unfolds in three connected sections — “Once More Loneliness,” “Fortress” and “Home” — giving the album its most extended statement and drawing together the record's folk-derived intimacy and progressive ambitions. The result is an album whose reputation has grown among collectors and listeners interested in overlooked British releases from the period.

This Thousand Club edition is presented as an all-analogue pressing, intended to preserve the warmth, depth and dynamics of the original recording. It is also a limited edition, making this reissue a welcome opportunity to hear an album that has historically been considerably less visible than many of its contemporaries. The complete original ten-track programme is reproduced across two sides of vinyl, including the three-part closing suite.