Monk Parker / Crown Of Sparrows
| Album: | Crown Of Sparrows | Collection: | General | |
| Artist: | Monk Parker | Added: | Feb 2018 | |
| Label: | Stargazer Records | |||
A-File Activity
| Add Date: | 2018-02-23 | Pull Date: | 2018-04-27 |
|---|
| Week Ending: | Apr 29 | Apr 22 | Apr 15 | Apr 8 | Mar 11 | Mar 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airplays: | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Recent Airplay
| 1. | Dec 01, 2022: | The Library
Gaudy Fame |
4. | Mar 06, 2019: | The Library
Gaudy Fame |
|
| 2. | Nov 30, 2021: | The Library (rebroadcast from Mar 6, 2019)
Gaudy Fame |
5. | Apr 23, 2018: | Predominantly A
Drowned Men |
|
| 3. | Jul 17, 2019: | The Library
Gaudy Fame |
6. | Apr 22, 2018: | Radiant Airwaves
Crown Of Sparrows |
Album Review
DJ Stace
Reviewed 2018-04-06
Reviewed 2018-04-06
Monk Parker / Crown of Sparrows
Label: Stargazer Records
Review: Stace
Bonnie “Prince” Billy-flavored indie folk singer songwriter backed by a supergroup with a contributors list that reads like a Who’s Who of the Austin/Brooklyn music nexus. Vast desert overdriven guitars reminiscent of SIn Ropas’ classic track “Tripped on Your Cape.”. Contrived accents and low-fi recording techniques lend an aged patina to the whole album that works well with the quasi-mystic lyrical sense of Monk Parker. Sounds sung through a victrola channeling another, more sepia-toned dimension.
RIYL: Sin Ropas, Calexico, Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Townes Van Zandt, Phosphorescent
FCC Clean
Favorites: Play them all.
1. Crown of Sparrows (06:05) - Slow to midtempo. Fades in with some test-pattern like tone, that scatters into organ and spare strings, with Monk Parker’s tin-edged tenor vocals. Soon gives way to acoustic steel string guitars and lap steel that makes it sound like a soundtrack for a Cormac McCarthy screenplay.
2. Gaudy Frame (04:43) *** Slow, piano and steel guitar ode to Rooney Mara. No really. Horns and Tambourine make this a beautiful and melancholy winner. Favorite.
3. Night Market (04:46) - Spare, slow overdriven guitar solos over soft bass and brushed snare/highhat rhythm. Cool lyrics about shopping in grocery stores late at night, and that weird shadowless brightness you only notice when you’re the only person in the store. Or when you’re on hallucinogens, maybe. Horns at the epic crescendo end.
4. Prom (04:51) * - Slow. Interesting mix of drum machine and live drums with the synthetic nature of the drum machine, really prominent, I think intentionally. This lends a really cool contrast to the organic sound of the steel guitar work. Lyrics not as distinct, on this one. Nice horns on the chorus.
5. Oh Cousin (07:30) - Light and airy intro, with organ and static giving way to slow, spare guitar, tambourine rhythm and Monk Parker vocals.
6. Drowned Men (04:38) - Midtempo, horn-driven, brightness compared to the previous tracks gives way to somber lyrics. Stays a bit more “peppy” than the rest of the tracks. String driven refrain, punctuates the middle of the song, after which a chorus of accompaniment brings the album to a fading close with strings. “Hey, let’s have everyone who touched this album play on this track.” Still, it works, even if it’s a tried and true way to end an album.
Label: Stargazer Records
Review: Stace
Bonnie “Prince” Billy-flavored indie folk singer songwriter backed by a supergroup with a contributors list that reads like a Who’s Who of the Austin/Brooklyn music nexus. Vast desert overdriven guitars reminiscent of SIn Ropas’ classic track “Tripped on Your Cape.”. Contrived accents and low-fi recording techniques lend an aged patina to the whole album that works well with the quasi-mystic lyrical sense of Monk Parker. Sounds sung through a victrola channeling another, more sepia-toned dimension.
RIYL: Sin Ropas, Calexico, Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Townes Van Zandt, Phosphorescent
FCC Clean
Favorites: Play them all.
1. Crown of Sparrows (06:05) - Slow to midtempo. Fades in with some test-pattern like tone, that scatters into organ and spare strings, with Monk Parker’s tin-edged tenor vocals. Soon gives way to acoustic steel string guitars and lap steel that makes it sound like a soundtrack for a Cormac McCarthy screenplay.
2. Gaudy Frame (04:43) *** Slow, piano and steel guitar ode to Rooney Mara. No really. Horns and Tambourine make this a beautiful and melancholy winner. Favorite.
3. Night Market (04:46) - Spare, slow overdriven guitar solos over soft bass and brushed snare/highhat rhythm. Cool lyrics about shopping in grocery stores late at night, and that weird shadowless brightness you only notice when you’re the only person in the store. Or when you’re on hallucinogens, maybe. Horns at the epic crescendo end.
4. Prom (04:51) * - Slow. Interesting mix of drum machine and live drums with the synthetic nature of the drum machine, really prominent, I think intentionally. This lends a really cool contrast to the organic sound of the steel guitar work. Lyrics not as distinct, on this one. Nice horns on the chorus.
5. Oh Cousin (07:30) - Light and airy intro, with organ and static giving way to slow, spare guitar, tambourine rhythm and Monk Parker vocals.
6. Drowned Men (04:38) - Midtempo, horn-driven, brightness compared to the previous tracks gives way to somber lyrics. Stays a bit more “peppy” than the rest of the tracks. String driven refrain, punctuates the middle of the song, after which a chorus of accompaniment brings the album to a fading close with strings. “Hey, let’s have everyone who touched this album play on this track.” Still, it works, even if it’s a tried and true way to end an album.
Track Listing
| 1. | Crown Of Sparrows | 4. | Prom | |||
| 2. | Gaudy Fame | 5. | Oh Cousin | |||
| 3. | Night Market | 6. | Drowned Men |