INTERVIEW: The Parlor Invites Listeners in With Their New, Double Concept Album
**This article originally appeared in our September 2026 issue**
Photos by Alison Bachorik
“Playing the songs actually sometimes feels like a séance… it kind of feels a little dangerous.”
A husband-and-wife duo has cemented themselves as connoisseurs of the local neo-psychedelic scene. Following their start in the ’90s, The Parlor, made up of multi-instrumentalists and producer-composers Jen O’Connor and Eric Krans, is now resurrecting an earlier version of themselves to create anew something that’s been there all along.
The pair met in a dorm building elevator during their freshman year at UMass Amherst in 1998 and soon began creating music together. They arrived in Albany in 2006, playing under the name We are Jeneric — a mash-up of both their names. It was during this time that Jen and Eric found themselves collaborating with various musicians in the area, including those involved with The B3nson Collective. A pivotal member of that grassroots group was Sgt. Dunbar and the Hobo Banned, of which Jen and Eric were also involved before ultimately forming The Parlor in 2012.
Following the reskinning of We are Jeneric, just with a new name, the albums kept coming. When the pandemic consumed the world in 2020, Eric found a silver lining. He spent time on weekly Zooms with old high school friends-turned-bandmates, indulging in cocktail hour reconnections. Once lockdowns eased, those friends traveled to Albany to jam in the parlor — a specific room inside the 19th-century farmhouse where Eric and Jen reside, and also farm and create on its property.
From Jen’s perspective, she saw three old friends who played together in the late ’90s teaming up once again to do what they do best. She thoughtfully observed and listened before one day entering with her notebooks, scribbling down lyrics and singing melodies. The Parlor’s upcoming album, Sun By Day | Moon By Night, was born from this multi-year collaboration, featuring the first record where someone other than Eric or Jen has played the drums or bass.
In their own words, the concept album channels a lost ’90s college radio energy through its neo-psychedelic grunge-gaze alt rock sound. It explores psychological “shadow work”, or the practice of exploring the unconscious, repressed, or hidden parts of your personality.
“It’s a record about Jen and I doing psychedelic or psychological depth work; trying to understand the parts of ourselves that we’ve ignored or tried to hide from ourselves over the years, and the parts of us that are coping mechanisms from childhood,” Eric explained.
Designed to be experienced in totality, Jen described the 20-track album as, “...like a curiosity shop or haunted house; whose rooms bend you toward the next one and the one after that until you’re lost inside and feel as if you might never get out, but at some point you stumble out the other end, bewildered, excited, inspired.”
The title Sun By Day | Moon By Night came to them at an estate sale, of all places — an experience not foreign to the couple, as Jen deals antiques on the side. One particular sale in Duxbury, Massachusetts two years ago proved to be a jackpot for books. Among the myriad of old occult and psychology titles was one called “What Witches Do,” and the spells detailed within proved to offer the perfect concoction of inspiration to help name a record that underscores the movement from one’s daylight persona into nocturnal self-confrontation.
This theme is eloquently portrayed by The Parlor’s unique sound, drawing influences from some of the musical greats of the last few decades: Mazzy Star, Velvet Underground and My Morning Jacket, mixed with Nirvana, early Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pixies, and more. Incorporating inspiration from these groups they grew up listening to has allowed The Parlor and company to lean into the style of music they’ve always wanted to make.
“All of us had grown as musicians. We could not have played the music we’re playing today back in the late ’90s. We just weren’t as good as we are now,” Eric shared.
Once they dove in and picked up their instruments, Eric says almost everything they jammed on was worth keeping as part of the record in some way. Many of the songs are straight from the farmhouse parlor room, translating to the album just as they were played live, some as first takes, too.
Undoubtedly, this has allowed for a natural passage to the stage, where they’ve already been able to perform a handful of singles released ahead of the full record drop. This includes the last two years at the Opalka Gallery in Albany. Due to the psychological nature of the new tunes, Eric says bringing them to life for an audience has been unmatched.
“Playing the songs actually sometimes feels like a séance, or like we’re calling out the type of stuff that we were taught by society, family, culture, school system — whatever is supposed to be subjugated to your superego,” he described. “We’re pulling that stuff out, so playing it live kind of feels a little dangerous.”
Jen and Eric encourage listeners to lean into the shadowy subtleties of Sun By Day | Moon By Night, which Jen says they spent years crafting. While it’s about more than just the music itself, the sound of this double LP presents something different than the electronic tones of The Parlor’s 2018 album Kiku or the meticulous looping and acoustic blend in You Are Love And I Am You released in 2023. Of all the eras of the band, the duo holds this upcoming record in a special light.
“We think it’s probably the most complete piece of music we’ve made yet, and it’s a trip,” Eric beamed. “If you listen to it front to back, hopefully it takes [you] on a journey, and [you] feel connected to it.”
The Parlor is only just getting started, feeling like they’ve hit the nail on the head when it comes to the kind of musical art and experience they seek to provide listeners.
“We’re in our 40s at this point, we’re still playing music, and it feels alive still,” Eric explained. “Hopefully it just keeps pushing us in that direction.”
Sun By Day | Moon By Night will be released on Friday, September 18. The Parlor will play a record release show on Friday, September 11 at Indian Ladder Farms.
