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Issue
#52
Aug. ‘03
From Sweden, Parker
is back.
Last year we sang their
praises not once but twice. In March we featured
Parker’s debut album “Aderpale.”
Then in September we
featured “Delusions
Of Grandeur,”
which essentially was Aderpale re-released with 7 of the original
tracks plus 7 more. That
disc (Delusions Of Grandeur) went on to
become the “IndepenDisc
of the Year” for 2002.
Now we are proud to
feature Le Petomane, a rousing,
swirling, Rave-up that brings back to the mix the synthpop made popular
in the early
‘80s as New Wave matured from it’s punk roots and
embraced the dance mix of the
main stream. Just as Aderpale/Delusions gave us what we coined
“New ‘Retro’
Wave,” Parker has taken Le
Petomane and
successfully incorporated the next step into their sophomore effort.
Here we find every
bit of the Punk/New Wave attitude displayed on last years releases,
along with the
3-chord, 3-minutes and under smacks to the head of tight, quick,
jam-packed wallop of
music intensity slagged off in a “I don’t
care, fuck the rules”
attitude that shows a hell of a lot more care than is let on. Once you
listen to the
complexity that is put into the simplicity of the sounds,
you’ll realize that Parker
has single handedly resurrected the best of the Garage/Punk/New
Wave/Synthpop/Dance/Party
era.
Added to this music fest
are lyrics that border on cheese, though with a
tongue stuck firmly in cheek so as to make them Big Fun – not
cheesy. Most of Parker’s
lyrics center on the woman who is always in love and always in a crisis
of the heart. The
funny thing about it is that we can relate in one way or another,
especially if we are
dancing and digging the sounds that leap us to our feet and cause us to
instantly forget
the mundane shit of life, while transforming it into a party. The likes
of such force us
to smile and have a moment of joy and salvation in this world, even if
it means singing
about every fractured relationship that can possibly be experienced by
us all.
Jumping right in with
“I Miss You,”
Parker
(Eva, Klaus, and Carlos – all share the same Parker
surname) proves
they are on the right track. Musically they are more down in the New
Wave depths, using
Talking Heads/Tom Tom Club rhythm and percussion to the side of the
Hammond organ that
adds the eletropop feel to the 3-chord rock guitars. It draws to mind
Gary Numan fronting
Parallel Lines era Blonde, playing with the ferocity of The Clash, yet
as musically
bombastic as The Ramones.
“Lalalalala”
takes us into a retro, garage-surf, mid-60s sitcom theme,
fun-in-summer, drive around with
the top down, the music cranked and playing the dashboard organ while
singing along in the
sun song. It’s a top-notch party staple that would fit
comfortably on Candy-O by The
Cars. Speaking of Parties, the 2nd wave
Ska-style “Pogo Pogo”
is just that, with Madness inspired horns and Kinks guitar licks
kicking ass for a “neverending
party - nonstop dance!” After the ultra cool,
suave, sophisticated, Rave-up of
“Go Insane,”
Parker does a 180 with
“What About,”
a ballad that proves Parker
is more than a power pop party band. Here it is Eva’s Lene
Lovich style vocals that
blow us away as we identify (falsely?) with the sad end of a
relationship, told from the
female perspective bordering on the psychosomatic, and highlighted by
such lines as:
“now when you’ve left me I am lonely in
my bed/ and still I dream that you
and I are one.” It’s the electronic
keyboards (bringing to mind New Musik)
and hanging angelic ahhh’s of the backing vocals that send
this over the deep end.
Placed squarely in the
middle of this delicious platter is the 1st
single, “Wham Bam Bam,”
an infectious rave that
utilizes the Farfisa organ beat to drive us up onto the dance floor.
Hand claps, a wall of
sound, and perversely manipulated vocals dare us to try not to dance to
this break-up song
that declares war on a former lover, “Yeah, Oh Yeah.”
The rest of the disc
gives us more and still more: the crunchy “I
Want You Back,” the explosive Adam
& The Ants meets The Cramps spit
out in The Slits fashion “Let Go,”
another heartfelt
ballad complete with moody horns “You
Shouldn’t Marry That Girl,”
the up tempo, genre crossing, bizzaro-disco “Dreaming
About You,”
and “Replaceable,”
which takes the perspective of the
other woman and sounds like Thin Lizzy doing The Pretenders
“The Adulteress.”
Finally it’s
all spelled out to us as Parker gives
us the Oingo Boingo via Tommy James & The Shondells treatment
with their dance anthem,
“We
Are Parker.” They
connect with their audience by bouncing us on their musical knee until
we are so wound up
that:
“We
are Parker we like a good party
we are Parker we like to non stop dance
we are Parker so play that funky music
we are here to play and we are here to stay
Oh oh oh yeah.”
Oh yeah, we’re
saying you should sit up and take notice. Parker
has IT. They are creating and producing
some of the best new music this
side of 1979, and if anyone can fine fault in that, well then may we
suggest that you
simply don’t understand the power of the punk/new wave
movement, a power that still
resounds today, if you know what you are listening (and dancing) to
that is. Parker
knows.
From Sweden, Parker
is back.
Someone call
CBGB’s.
Le Petomane by Parker
"Imported
from Sweden"
available now for
$7.98 +
s/h*
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