Ambassador Parsley and the Lying Hearts Club – Reseda
Ambassador Parsley & The Lying Hearts Club, a collaboration between the artist and Arkansas Traveler formerly known as Ambrosia Parsley of Shivaree and singer-songwriter and producer Chris Maxwell, have released their debut EP, Reseda, out via Killphonic Records.
Alongside their debut EP, the duo share focus track “April,” a wistful Americana ballad that marries Parsley’s delicate, evocative vocals with a vintage country-Western charm.
“If a month was a person, which one would you be?” Parsley reflects. “I think I’d be September. I could go to a new school and wear argyle socks. Crunch leaves in my fresh sneakers. Change my entire personality for a new batch of strangers and ride the bus… I hate driving… yeah, that’s me. I’d be September. I could never be August, I hate my legs… August has great legs and I’m bad at fistfights. August will slap you into December. I couldn’t be January. Too austere. Resolutions, gym routines, no smoking, no drinking…. who even IS January. I know they’re out there, somewhere.
And I DEFINITELY wouldn’t be April, but I wanna be so bad. Oh April, you gorgeous delinquent, spinning through a party in your floral dress, knocking over knick knacks and laughing like a Blue Jay. It’s hot out, NO it’s gonna rain, or snow, perhaps… April doesn’t know yet and also doesn’t care and that’s super annoying. But April gets away with sooooo much shit because everyone loves a beautiful psycho.
Hey April, we wrote you a song.”
Rooted in classic western country, Reseda pairs twangy instrumentation and earnest storytelling with a dreamy, distinctly Californian sensibility. The project grew out of recording sessions last spring at Maxwell’s Goat House, where Parsley would arrive on Tuesdays and Fridays with a car full of tacos and Mexican cokes. Joined by rhythm kings John Valesio and Jeff Bailey during their lunch breaks, the group worked quickly, playing with an unhurried spontaneity that occasionally transported Parsley back to the world of her childhood.
Those memories take shape throughout Reseda in vivid snapshots of 1970s Los Angeles, from the backseat of her parents’ yellow Vega to the valley heat, cartoon smog and traffic that defined the era. The music draws on the familiar sounds and experiences of that time, including listening to the Eagles on KMET, while tracing the lasting impressions that family, place and music leave behind. Rather than simply looking back, the EP transforms these fragments into something lived-in and immediate, with a warmth that runs through its country arrangements and a sense of wonder in its storytelling.
Across the project, Ambassador Parsley & The Lying Hearts Club embrace a sound that feels both classic and personal, balancing country tradition with a hazy, almost cinematic quality. Reseda finds beauty in the details of everyday life and the memories that linger long after the moment has passed, bringing together the duo’s musical chemistry and Parsley’s distinctive perspective in a debut that is twangy, dreamy and full of character.
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