Twee indie/emo/pop punk bands seem to be cropping up all over the place at the moment, although that’s not necessarily a bad thing, especially when bands of DOWSING and PARKER’s calibre exist.
DOWSING kick off the proceedings with two well-crafted numbers, fairly reminiscent of a less hectic DEFIANCE, OHIO. ‘That Would Be A Lot Of Cool’ is mid-paced but punchy, while ‘Somerset’ is more mellow and reflective. The soft backing keys on both tracks add a nice layer to the sound, and the guitars give the songs a bit of an O PIONEERS!!! feel.
PARKER are different enough to keep the record interesting, while on the other hand, the bands are also similar enough to share much of each other’s fan base.
There is more of a 90s feel to PARKER’s efforts, with influences ranging from AMERICAN FOOTBALL to MY AWESOME COMPILATION. In fact, this might be a contentious view, but the band share a lot of similarities with the (now defunct?) Leicester band (overlooking the vocals, which could be compared to a more toned down TIGERS JAW).
What both bands are good at doing is taking the genre which they share with so many ‘up-and-coming’ US acts at the moment and setting themselves apart from the rest through a hint of originality and a heavy dose of what can only be described as ‘excellent songwriting skills’. These four tracks would be well-suited to a sweaty Chicago basement, but for now my sweaty Peterborough bedroom will have to do.
ANDREW CREAM