After years playing in a variety of folk bands Somerset musician Nick Parker has finally gone solo and served up an excellent debut album ‘The King of False Alarms.’
Although listed as ‘acoustic, folk and country’ on his Myspace page Parker can arguably be lumped in with the newish breed of folk music to come out of the UK such as Leisure Society and Frank Turner, who are as much influenced by the likes of Neutral Milk Hotel as they are by the hey-nonny-nonnying of traditional English folk.
The nearest comparison is probably Frank Turner and The King of False Alarms opener ‘Comfort or convenience’ is firmly in the Turner mould; driving acoustic rhythm, rousing chorus, impassioned vocals all layered with cello and violin. It’s a great opener.
Things slow down with the more downbeat series of tracks such as ‘He should be home by now’, ‘The happiest man,’ and ‘Things that I miss’. While these showcase some sumptuous production (recorded in a cottage in Devon, according to his website) and range of instruments they have less impact than the more rousing tracks.
It is with ‘Here With You (Ode to the Open Mic)’, featuring just Parker, his guitar and backing vocals from some garden birds that things get far better. This raw sound, more akin to Neutral Milk Hotel’s album ‘In the Aeroplane over the sea’, really grabbed my attention and starts a storming second half to the album.
Among the best is the stomping ‘Metaphor’, with good use of lapsteel and great lyrics surrounding the thoughts of a nanny who has to hand back the kids to their parents at the end of the day. I particularly liked the line “I know you mean no harm, I’m the drummer in Def Leppard but I’ve lost my other arm.”
‘Blackmail’ with violin and cello to the fore is almost chamberpop and arguably the stand out on the album.
Parker has clearly assembled a fine bunch of musicians on this album and his experience and openness to a variety of indie and folk influences shine through.
It is going to be tough to get his head above the parapet with many others, such as Turner and Joe Steer (aka Broadcast 2000), ploughing a similar indie-folk field (apologies for the metaphor). But I hope Parker achieves the larger audience he deserves with this debut.
The King of False Alarms can be bought direct from Nick Parker’s website. Details here.
7/10
by Joe Lepper, Aug 2010
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