French alt-rock band Paerish announce ‘The Soissons Sessions,’ out now via SideOneDummy, and share “Houses of American Style” recorded live at L’Ancienne Abbaye Saint-Léger. Inspired by the spirit of MTV Unplugged, the EP sees the band dismantle four songs from ‘You’re in both dreams (and you’re scared)’ and rebuild them in a stark, resonant acoustic setting inside a centuries-old abbey in Soissons.
“The members of Paerish all grew up in the 90s with MTV Unplugged,” says frontman Mathias Court. “Stripping a production down to its core to keep only the writing, the emotion, and the performance.” The result is intimate yet expansive. Electric urgency gives way to folk-flecked vocals, delicate acoustics and intricate arrangements that reveal new contours in familiar songs.
“The songs we chose and recorded for this live session were all originally written in Soissons during the COVID-19 period. Playing them again in the very city where they were born felt obvious — a way of closing the loop,” Court explains. “Houses of American Style” speaks directly to childhood, hometown memory and the strange feeling of return. The setting intensifies that connection.
Filmed and recorded live in the abbey that loomed large in Court’s youth, ‘The Soissons Sessions’ is both homecoming and artistic reset. As Paerish prepare to enter the studio for their fourth album, this release stands as a striking bridge between origin and evolution.