Album review by Mary Lennon

3 Jun 2008 /

Here is an album review by Mary Lennon which I am very proud of.

Peter Paul Parker.

His name makes him sound like an innocent character from a nursery rhyme, but there is nothing child-like about this Surrey singer songwriter. Parker’s life has been saved by dedicated to music, and he strikes me as the sort of person who would have an endless amount of tales to tell from the rock’n’roll road, especially after touring with the original members of Thin Lizzy. Despite this, his debut solo album does not provoke images of unruly hair, and jeans that are tighter than the perms of the over-excited girls in the crowd. ‘Stepping Up’, is a much more relaxed affair, in which stories are weaved with emotionally relatable tales of love and comfort.
Parker’s sound is acoustic led, and his soft strumming has a rootsy feel with clear influences from folk and electric rock. On first listen, the way his music jangles and bounces is massively reminiscent of the softer side to Brit Pop indie music, namely The La’s. This is also helped by his often Beatles-esque harmonies that are placed over striking and delicate electric guitar licks (especially on ‘In My Hands’). A couple of songs to pay some well deserved attention to include ‘She Finds A Way’. This song begins with a simple chord structure and progresses with a bare drum beat, and a scattering of tambourine. Lyrically, it deals with a grown man embracing his emotional attachment to a woman who makes life’s tribulations easier to deal with and digest. A simple idea, but it is written, sung and played beautifully. ‘She Finds A Way’ has the unpretentious and incomplex sound of a hymn, and in it, Peter’s voice is tender, and has a tinge of humility and honesty.
Every song on ‘Stepping Up’ has the same uncomplicated quality that would clearly appeal to listeners with an ear for a well constructed song. Parker seems to have an unspoilt talent for songwriting. This is clear also on ‘Harder’. The song breaks down towards the end, and is stripped back to a raw and basic rendition of the unmistakable chorus line, which seems made for the end of a gig, by which point, the crowd have been successfully won around (or possibly intoxicated enough) to a sing along. This song is clearly one that needs to be heard live.
In terms of the crowd you can expect to find singing along at one of Peter’s gigs, I imagine that his music is the kind that would attract a varied audience, but namely those with a nostalgic view of music, and a desire for a time when songwriting was not based on phases or gimicks. Parker has an honest passion for playing, and I can see that the songs from ‘Stepping Up’ are genuine expressions of his own life, and songs that he sincerely cares about and is proud of. Peter’s career in music has been long and varied. ‘Stepping Up’ is the sound of a man who has found the time to dedicate time and energy into reflecting upon his own worth as a musician, by creating an album that is as personal and it is universally relatable.

Marie Lennon

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