A rediscovered masterpiece of psychedelic folk that sounds like it was beamed in from a kinder dimension. Linda Perhacs, a California dental hygienist, made one album in 1970 that vanished until crate diggers resurrected it decades later. If you need proof that gentle music can still wound, start here.
The first time I heard “Parallelograms,” I was driving home at 2 a.m. with the windows down, and I had to pull over. It wasn’t the lyrics or the tune—it was the space between the notes. The reverb on her voice hangs like fog in a coastal canyon. The acoustic guitar rings out, then decays into what sounds like a room full of air. That’s the real instrument on this record: silence, carefully shaped.
Linda Perhacs was a dental hygienist in the late 1960s when she happened to work on the teeth of film composer Leonard Rosenman. He heard her humming to patients, asked if she wrote songs, and then invited her to record an album. That’s the kind of origin story you don’t invent. Rosenman brought in session players from the Los Angeles studio scene—people who had played on Beach Boys and Frank Zappa records—and they built a sound that has no genre. It’s folk, but it’s also tape-loop psychedelia, with layered vocals that predate Eno’s ambient work by five years.
The album was recorded at Sound Recorders in Hollywood, with engineer Rik Pekkonen at the board. Perhacs sang her harmonies live, stacking them until they formed a kind of vertical chord. On the title track, “Parallelograms,” the mix phases in and out of your left and right ear like the album itself is breathing. When the chorus hits—“take me on a trip to your mind”—it doesn’t sound like an invitation. It sounds like a prayer.
Rosenman’s arrangements are the secret weapon. He used string sections, but not the fussy kind. The strings on “Hey, Who Really Cares?” are bowed so softly they barely touch the air. The cello on “If You Were My Man” is played at the very top of its register, near breaking. And the song “Rainy Day” has a harpsichord buried so deep in the mix that you might miss it the first ten listens. That’s the point. This album rewards obsessive attention.
The session musicians included Joe Porcaro on drums, who later played with Steely Dan, and Larry Knechtel on bass, a studio legend who played on “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” They treated Perhacs’ songs like fragile glass. No one overplayed. Every note exists because it was needed.
After the album was released, Kapp Records did almost nothing to promote it. Perhacs went back to cleaning teeth, and the album disappeared. It wasn’t until the early 2000s that CD reissues and word of mouth turned it into a cult holy grail. Perhacs eventually came out of retirement and made a follow-up in 2014, but this one remains untouchable.
Listen to “Parallelograms” on a quiet evening. Not through laptop speakers. Put on headphones, or a good pair of speakers with the lights low. Let the first track wash over you. That moment at 2:42 when the background vocals swell into a chorus of Lindas? That’s the sound of someone who had no idea she was making a masterpiece.
🎵 Key Takeaways
- Silence is the real instrument on Parallelograms.
- Reverb on Perhacs' voice evokes coastal canyon fog.
- Perhacs recorded after humming to her dental patient.
- Title track phase-pans like the album is breathing.
- Chorus sounds like a prayer, not an invitation.
- Harpsichord on Rainy Day rewards repeated listens.
Why did Linda Perhacs stop making music after this album?
The album sold almost nothing upon release, and Kapp Records did not promote it. Perhacs returned to her dental hygienist career and raised a family. She didn't make another album until 2014, after a fan tracked her down and convinced her to record again.
Is 'Parallelograms' considered psychedelic folk or something else?
It's most often classified as psychedelic folk, but it also draws on ambient, classical, and even early new-age textures. The term 'psychedelic folk' only scratches the surface—there are moments that sound like a fever dream in a cathedral.
Which song from 'Parallelograms' is the best entry point?
Start with the title track. It opens the album and contains all of Perhacs' signatures: layered harmony, a drifting melody, and lyrics that feel both personal and cosmic. 'Parallelograms' is the song that hooks nearly every listener instantly.