Parallel Spark
Self-Released, 2021
8/10
Also a member of Spirit Fox, the New Jersey native Paul Dutton’s first solo album brings us a retro rock listen that often touches on folk ideas in a lush setting where Dutton plays just about everything on the record.
“Walls Of Light” starts the listen with warm guitars and crisp drumming as Dutton’s smooth vocals guide the colorful, textured climate, and this expressive formula continues to the ambient and dreamy “Parallel Spark”, as well as the hazy, warbly “Long Lasting”, which transitions into a firm and driving rocker.
The middle tracks, “Pantheon” and “Bitter Hellish Truth”, continue the strong attention to detail, where some of the best singing highlights the melodies of the former, while the latter buzzes slowly with power, grit and harmonies.
At the end, “Collective” recruits psyche-folk nods amid the intricate guitars and light singing, and “Twelve Years” finishes the listen with a throwback quality to the acoustic and electric guitars that weave in and out of each other with fluidity.
Dutton recently relocated back to East Coast after spending a decade in California, and he brings influences from both coasts to this very well executed and precisely produced effort that will appeal to fans of guitar music from the ‘70s on.
Travels well with: Other Houses- Twins Who Fence; Beingmoved- Smiles And Bigger Hearts