Quick Hitters:: The Peter Parkers

There are things to like about the Peter Parkers. They are from Moncton, which not only has the sweetest Mall in the Maritimes as well as the most baffling, yet awesome, roadside attraction you'll find in these parts, but Moncton is also in New Brunswick. New Brunswick remains the province which gave us the warmest response for the Great Canadian Mixtape Project, so we have a soft spot for New Brunswick. The Peter Parkers formed in 1995, so unless they formed as 10 year olds, they are likely in the hill's age bracket. That's always nice. Best of all, the Peter Parkers are playing the Marquee this Friday night with Tomcat Combat & Share.

Of course there's more to like about these vets of the Moncton scene than the superficialities above, mainly their new album We Were All Born On A Burial Ground. This is the Parker's first release in five years, and the first release I've heard from them. To be honest with you, after taking the psychedelic and chaotic pummeling dished out by album opener Make Out Party, I wasn't too sure I could handle a full album of what the Peter Parkers can dish out. My fears were allayed quickly by the excellent Nod If You Can Hear, which keeps the psychedelia turned up, but tames the chaos into the kind of deep-grooved head-nodder I can get behind.

Despite a couple exceptions, like the aforementioned Make Out Party, or the darn-near peppy Serpico's Gotta Go, the Parkers seem most comfortable plumbing the darker reaches for their sound & song content. I certainly don't have a problem with this, especially when you consider how well they do it. In fact it was the minimalist intensity of the middle portion of the album, songs like the melancholy instrumental Sleazy Dream, the plaintive Afghan Man, and the solemn More Than What Your Ass Could Cash, that really brought me around on We Were All Born On A Burial Ground. The power of these songs also leads me to believe that the Parkers must be rather impressive live.

Which brings us, in super-smooth segue fashion, back to the Peter Parkers show this Friday evening. We've said some nice things about Tomcat Combat and Share on the hill previously, and so if you put any stock in our opinion (and Jebus knows, you certainly may not), you'd have to think this will be an evening of high-quality entertainment.