Parkwright

A reviewer appreciates nothing more than a well done press kit from a tiny band. The impression is instantly positive when one receives a full-color, multi-page package with a properly addressed cover letter, a sheet describing the band's history and what they are trying to do, as well as a complete lyrics sheet on top of the usual CD sleeve. This of course has no effect on the vast majority of you readers, but I felt like giving Parkwright some credit for their awesome promotional work, it really warms my heart to see a band go through so much trouble just for a review, and not only that, but it also shows that the band are serious about increasing their coverage. Major thumbs up from here.

So anyway, Parkwright are another band from the Philadelphia scene that has brought us tiny but great bands like The Wonder Years and Twenty30. They play a soft style of pop rock in the vein of Jack Johnson and Counting Crows with a modern touch to it, sort of like the softer Plain White T's material but less pop punk and more pop rock. The songs on their five-track debut EP are relaxed in nature and don't appear to be in a hurry to go anywhere, which makes the record a perfect one to throw on when you just wanna kick back and relax in your armchair absorbed in your own thoughts. The negative side of this is that there isn't that much going on in the songs, as they are mostly chord based pop rock written in the traditional verse chorus verse chorus formula. At the same time, I wouldn't ever mind popping on a song like "2x2" on any warm summer day while strolling along the beach with an ice cream in hand, it's just one of those feel-good songs that you just can't have negative thoughts on, ever. Were it up to me, this one would be the EP's radio-single instead of "Marybelle (Ride With Me)" because it has some more energy to it, although the latter's gentle strumming and soothing vocals are also entirely alright.

I think anyone whose heard the EP can agree with me on a couple of things, though, the first one being that there aren't any bad tracks on the album, all five songs are emotional pop rock much more so than any mainstream act we've seen lately (the band are also quick to point this out themselves). But at the same time, they are missing that final step to write a song in the caliber of "Hey There Delilah", a smash hit that snowballs a tiny band from obscurity into mainstream recognition. This being only their debut EP, however, things are looking very good indeed. Keep it up boys. [6�] - Rockfreaks.net