Lifetime Of Comedy
Fluff & Gravy, 2020
9/10
The Portland, Oregon quintet The Parson Red Heads return with their 5th studio album, where some line up changes in recent years yield one of their most collaborative records as their unique brand of Americana sounds better than ever.
“Heaven Knows I’m Trying” starts the album with warm piano as Raymond Richards’ pedal steel and hazy vocals from Evan Way enter the brief, atmospheric opener, and “All I Wanted” follows with crisp percussion and breezy guitar lines as fluid folk-rock unfolds with much beauty.
Near the middle, “Coming Along” finds a dreamy place to reside as expressive singing aligns with a busy display of thriving indie-rock, while “I Never Would Have Changed” soars with a retro-Americana spirit that’s vocally harmonic thanks to the newest member, Jake Smith. “I Found A Reason”, a late album highlight, then layers the climate with musicianship that’s both adventurous and sublime as the rhythm section of Brette Marie Way and Robbie Augspurger illustrate much chemistry.
The record is bookended by “Dreaming Of Another Place” and “Falling Fading”, where the former leads with ambience before settling into some variation of cosmic rock, and the latter finishes the listen with a cautious formula of tuneful, elegant folk ideas.
An extremely meticulous effort that mulls over the ups and downs of being a career musician, as well as the balancing of family and friends, The Parson Red Heads further cement their status as one of Portland’s finest outfits on this career highlight, although it seems the best is still yet to come from the vast talent present here.
Travels well with: The Hackles- A Dobritch Did As A Dobritch Should; River Whyless- Kindness, A Rebel