REVIEW: Paerish - Rita
It’s a feat in itself for a French band to break into the alt-rocksphere dominated by the American and English, but Parisian band PAERISH have been making waves taking on the behemoth of the Western alt-rock scene, sharing stages with heavyweights PUP, SUM 41, and MOVEMENTS and proving they deserve the spotlight. But to get to this pinnacle the band have gone through trial and error, drawing on a slew of musical and film-based influences to drive their sound forward while still trying to retain their authentic voice.
Embracing their French upbringings and defiant influences has finally shaped their voice into their desired form on latest album Rita, expressive instruments portraying a hard-hitting nostalgia and the reluctant acceptance of having to move forward, defying the urge to turn and fall back into the arms of what feels safe. But to be safe in the past means never growing into who you're meant to be; PAERISH demonstrates their personal growth and momentum through the evolution of their sound, no longer playing to simply emulate their musical roots but performing with more confidence in every pluck, crack, breath and pause.
The album doesn't necessarily stay fixed in tone and storytelling, straying from its own path and feeling like an anthology of different experiences and sounds. Even in opener Prince of Darkness it shifts from rebellious and furious beats to an alt-rock medley and vocals that border shoegaze without pause, only to move into an earthquake of bass, eerie synths and distorted staccato guitar on Heal, or the dreamlike quality of Strawberry of hazy vocals, acoustic guitar and thumping kick-drum for a more contemporary rock feel. There are moments like this dotted throughout the album amidst punk driven melodies and heavy laden rock on cataclysmic What You Want and the relentless instrumental chaos and visceral screams of Wait For Dark, as if it's an album waging war with itself.
It works almost completely perfectly. The songs battle each other for dominance and switch up unexpectedly, representing the past and present emotion and development PAERISH drew on for Rita and each demanding to be understood. While not a rock opera and relying on human connection rather than theatricality, its approach could be likened to GREEN DAY’s 21st Century Breakdown in its mix of sounds that fall into one another. Crashing In Cars feels like a punk-rock jaunt that sits in the same camp as many of the band's inspirations, while Hurry Slowly has a blend of upbeat alt-rock hooks against a backdrop of grunge as the lyrics lament leaving behind the safe and known, the album closing out to fuzzed Soothe that builds anticipation of a final crescendo but instead ends on an anticlimactic note, giving us a moment to pause and reflect instead of relying on a dramatic finisher.
PAERISH themselves have explained the album comes from clinging onto the childhood creativity and imagination that so many lose to adulthood; it's not through choice that we lose our sense of wonder and whimsy, but the relentless grind of responsibility, maturity, toxic jobs and relationships, and exhaustion of just making it through the day that strips away our free-thinking, nonsensical creativity. The band reclaim this and use Rita as a way of saying to themselves and others you don't have to give up your inner child nor your responsible adult mindset, but balancing the two brings you closer to peace and acceptance, the push/pull of different melodies and blended genres embodying this.
Rather than view this as a clear-cut album, it comes through as an experimentation where PAERISH push out of their emotional comfort zones and past their technical boundaries, and also feels an expansion of the sound they've been steadily building over the years into a voice full of surety. Rita is their most determined and pinpointed work while still having a rough edge to it that calls back to their beginnings and promises there are more waters for them to test.
Score: 8/10
Rita was released on 16th October 2026 via SideOneDummy.
Words: Julia Stark
Photos: Paerish
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