French alternative outfit Paerish have revealed another reimagined cut from their forthcoming audiovisual EP ‘Acoustic Sessions – Live At L’Ancienne Abbaye Saint-Léger’, which is set for release 27th February via SideOneDummy Records. Each of the four tracks in this beautiful collection features a different instrumental addition, as well as being entirely reworked from their original iterations that appear on the band’s latest album ‘You’re both in dreams (and you’re scared)’. This version of ‘The Luck You Had’ features a wistful saxophone line interwoven within its newly-delicate atmosphere, with keys further enriching the texture of the track.
Vocalist and guitarist Mathias Court says “‘The Luck You Had’ is one of the most special songs we’ve ever written as Paerish. It’s the only track we’ve recorded that was completely torn apart in the studio. We ended up rewriting it in a single afternoon and, somehow, that chaotic moment turned into one of our proudest achievements as musicians.
We already felt incredibly lucky to add a saxophone to the album version. But having Emile Cooper Leplay play on this acoustic version at l’Abbaye Saint-Léger, this time crafting his own leads and solos, felt even more meaningful. In a way, it brought us closer than ever to the song’s original spirit.”
“The members of Paerish all grew up in the 90s with MTV Unplugged,” says Court, when musing on how the idea for ‘Acoustic Sessions – Live At L’Ancienne Abbaye Saint-Léger’ EP germinated within the band. “Those iconic sessions saw bands re-arrange their songs acoustically to offer something completely different from the rest of their discography. For us, that idea has always been a true artistic challenge: stripping a production down to its core to keep only the writing, the emotion, and the performance. It’s a chance to rethink our songs and see how far they can go once the studio polish is removed.”
And that’s exactly what Paerish have done with this beautiful new collection, recorded and filmed by the band live in the most resplendent of settings. The essence of the songs they’ve extracted for the release is distilled into its purest form and then carried by ethereal, folk-flecked vocals, gentle meandering acoustic guitar lines and intricate accompanying instrumentals that bring a completely different frequency and life to the tracks. Stripped down, but also fully scored, these versions breathe a completely different kind of life into the original compositions.
“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,” elaborates Court on their thinking behind the process leading up to this release. “Having grown up in Soissons, I feel a strong attachment to this city and come back often. The former Saint-Léger Abbey has always impressed me. It’s a place filled with history — majestic, almost outside of time. That’s why I suggested to the band, and then to the city, that we record this live session in a place that means so much to me.”
The fourth studio album from Paerish is currently being crafted with Grammy-winning producer and longtime collaborator Will Yip (Turnstile, Title Fight) at the helm so stay tuned for more news from the band in 2026.
Connect with Paerish on Instagram
