Parka -‘Attack Of the Hundred Yard Hardman.’ (Jeepster)

Many years ago, Jeepster signed and released albums by two acts based north of the border, one of whom did well under Jeepster (Belle and Sebastian), the other who left to a major label before they started to sell huge quantities of records and changed their main influence from Sebadoh to Coldplay (Snow Patrol). So where do Parka stand?

Musically speaking, Parka would appear to have more in common with the likes of the View or the Fratellis than either Belle and Sebastian or Snow Patrol. This is jolly, knees up vaguely ‘indie’ rather than groundbreakingly radical indie. Yet, I’m not sure how much that matters. Parka don’t seem to make any claims towards being radical, what they are is fun, and that they succeed at brilliantly.

Including the three singles released so far: ‘If You Wanna?’, ‘Disco Dancer’ and ‘Better Anyway’ Parka’s debut is worth checking out. The fun starts with opener ‘Bosses and Bastards’ and continues right through. It won’t change your life, but it could be the soundtrack to your summer. And that’s gotta be worth something.

****

Parka -‘Bosses and Bastards.’ mp3

Parks -‘Better Anyway.’ mp3

Parka’s website/Parka’s MySpace

[P.S. If you want new music and like Nine Inch Nails, their album is out today and it’s free. A review will appear here shortly…See their website for a free legal download of the entire album

I’d not even heard of this band before today, I really must pay more attention… : ))

Parka hail from Glasgow, are signed to Jeepster (who originally signed both Belle and Sebastian and Snow Patrol), and are now London-based. OK, I grant you that name doesn’t sound great, but the songs are fab, and they’re playing all over the UK in the next three months (just check their mySpace). They have released two singles so far, ‘If you Wanna’, back last May, and the ‘Disco Dancer’ single which came out today.

I’ll be honest, I really like what I’ve heard so far, so I’m not going to post the original versions, but give you a taster of what they have to offer:

Parka -‘If You Wanna (XFM acoustic session).’ mp3

Parka -‘Disco Dancer (Si McEvoy’s Trash Fash remix).’ mp3(Website mp3)

Parka -‘The Glass.’ mp3 (From The Disco Dancer single)

Parka -‘Closing Time.’ mp3 (From MySpace)

Make friends at their MySpace here and visit their website here