Today we head to Austin, Texas, the home of Parker Woodland, a power trio and their new single, “Never Met a Stranger”, featuring some fabulous psych rock. Tackling grief it showcases the ability for music to heal, and takes us on quite the journey, with dark psychedelic guitar lines, hushed vocals, haunting yet upbeat. We are thrilled to be premiering this final single from their upcoming album, There’s No Such Thing as Time, out this Friday 6th September on Flak Records.
“Stranger” has the feel of a Parisian nightclub, lights dimmed, a single spotlight on the chanteuse. Opening with a moody and rhythmic guitar line, the atmospheric hushed vocals grip and entrance, a pulsing bass line keeps it all a little trippy, with multiple peaks and troughs in a fabulous psychedelic journey. It concludes with a spectacularly emotive instrumental and distorted outro. There are some sinuous Pink Floyd feels running through “Stranger”.
About “Stranger”, Erin Walker (she/her), bassist and singer writes: “There’s a sudden, very quiet moment in the middle of ‘Stranger’ where I whisper, ‘You think you know yourself / you think you know the world / grief makes you a different girl.’ Grief and loss can make you feel so alone. I wanted a song that helped transform painful experiences into shared moments of connection, for the listener and the band. At Parker Woodland shows, looking out in the crowd and seeing people singing along, sometimes with tears in their eyes, means everything to me because I know we are healing together through music.”
“Musically, ‘Stranger’ is one of our guitarist and my co-writer Andrew Solin’s greatest achievements. The guitars are absolutely epic. This song also encapsulates Parker Woodland’s drive for profound musical dynamics and vulnerable lyrical truths. People always react so strongly to it because of that, and because everyone has experienced grief, not just personal losses but also the collective grief of the COVID pandemic, of war or bigotry, and anticipatory grief about the destruction of the planet.”
“A musician friend recently freaked out when I sent her a sneak-preview of ‘Stranger.’ I told her it’s our favorite but ‘we can’t make it a single because it’s too long.’ She immediately shot back, ‘That’s what they said about ‘Bohemian Rhapsody.’ I love that. So, yeah, this is definitely a Queen meets Pink Floyd moment for us, and I hope I’m screaming ‘You made me a different girl!’ on stages for the rest of my life.”
Kerri Cinquina (she/her), Parker Woodland drummer gives us her take on the track: “‘Carnival!’ That was the first thing I thought of when I heard the practice recording for the first time. But a dark carnival, not the bright and sunny, child on your shoulders, eating cotton candy, enjoying the sunny day kind of carnival. So we made some really fun and haunting instrument choices. Our producer Brent Baldwin even played an electric bicycle wheel for sound effects, in addition to adding synthesizer, pump organ, tambourine and some creepy whispers to our usual power trio guitar, bass, drums lineup!”
Completing the trio is Andrew Solin on guitar. They have been releasing music since 2021, and with a few EPs under their belt, the debut LP has been keenly awaited. With a mix of punk, pop, and indie folk, the album is infused with big anthems and is synonymous with their messages of love and compassion. The band have been fixtures in Austin’s music community for decades. They are renowned for being an ‘activist’ band, and have proudly taken stances for being anti-racist, pro LGBTQA+ as well as their socially progressive music and good vibes live performances.
Parker Woodland have a bunch of gigs coming up in Austin over the next week, so if you are a local make sure you catch them. Support live music! They will also be playing at Fort Worth on the 13th of September. You can head to their website for more details.
Enjoy “Stranger” from Parker Woodland, and be sure to listen to the rest of the album, There’s No Such Thing as Time, when it is released on Friday. You can pre-order it HERE, including a very fabulous limited edition lemonade yellow vinyl!
You can keep up to date with Parker Woodland via their Website, Facebook, Instagram, Youtube and Twitter/X
Header image credit: Ali Ditto
