It’s January 2018, between the four walls of a one roomed, east facing apartment, on the banks of the Saone river, in Vieux-Lyon. Night has fallen on town and seems to be never ending. The sun has been hidden for weeks. All is grey, dull and flavourless. In the evening, the river cruise ships pass alongside the windows. Their green and blue neon lights reflect off the water and brighten up the atmosphere. The room is lit by candles pressed into the necks of dusty wine bottles, emitting an orange glow on the walls. An old amp bought at a bargain price, a guitar offered from a distant Christmas, a bass guitar generously lent, a synthesizer generously given, a broken microphone and a cheap sound card fill the room amidst the minimum required in furniture.
All elements are here. The result is intense cold- wave music with hypnotic, half recognisable riffs and loops. The main influences are familiar. Occasionally we can hear Cocteau Twins, The Cure, Bauhaus or YTPo, all mixed up with inwardness and a bedroom lo-fi impression. It’s like waking from a coma after 36 years. Meager Benefits is a one man band, created by Theo Parlier. Theo composes and records each and every part by himself, most often in a one shot process – from nothing, to a finished song in a single day whilst chasing from his mind the fiends that live inside him.
