Cale Parks Heads To Mars!

The list of drummers that have found their way from behind a kit to the front of the stage is about as big as my last paycheck. That being said, Cale Parks eventually emerged from behind the set of his former bands Aloha and White Williams and launched a solo career. Now a couple of albums in to that career, Cale Parks is as much of a songwriter and frontman as he is a percussionist. Parks seems pretty comfortable as band leader and his songs reflect this. As if to make a point, his latest record, To Swift Mars is by far the most accomplished and sure footed effort of his career.

To Swift Mars is a great effort of moody pop that hovers somewhere between synth pop and bedroom pop in a limbo that seems to suit Mr. Parks just perfectly. The record is as blurry and hazy as the images on the cover and works its way into your consciousness by subtly adding the textures of electronics, beats, and a sense of melancholy. It's a very muted kind of beauty that isn't blatant but rather something more refined and requiring a bit more work to enjoy. That's not to say that anything is the matter with To Swift Mars because there really isn't; it just isn't a record that bashes you on the head with huge hooks and choruses and that's always a good thing.

Utilizing friends from his former bands for musical ideas and inspiration, To Swift Mars is like a meeting ground between Cale Parks' former and current lives. The results of this meeting of the minds is truly something that's a pleasure to listen to in all it's ethereal glory. While he might not be blatant and rely on a big sound or big hooks to make his point, Cale Parks knows how to cast a pop spell. He does just that on the six songs that make up To Swift Mars. This is the case, so much so, that To Swift Mars is a fantastic EP of sophisticated pop that very good and will leave you with a new found respect for drummers who can actually write songs.