Parkas - You Should Have Killed Us When You Had The Chance

The first hump day in March here in Halifax called for a very specific soundtrack this morning. Spring is coming, but there's still a fairly bitter chill in the air, so I searched for a band whose name reminded me of winter, but whose music could energize me and get me prepped for the warm weather on the horizon. And preferably, the artwork from said band's most recent album could have some sort of Napoleonic cat on the cover. I'll admit I thought that finding such a thing would be impossible, but into that void stepped You Should Have Killed Us When You Had The Chance from southern Ontario foursome Parkas.

Ordinarily finding an album that matches such an eclectic set of criteria would be a victory, but this is a bittersweet one, because, as anyone familiar with the band knows, this was the groups farewell album. This is a shame, because listening to You Should Have Killed Us a few times today brings to mind a band hitting their stride - indie pop sensibilities mixed with 90's riffs and catchy hooks aplenty, it's really an enjoyable listen in my humble. So it's a shame the Parkas are no more, but thanks to the miracle of recorded sound, you can treasure this, and their previous albums, forever. And here's hoping some/all of them are still making music and not toiling with the rest of us in the dreaded "real world".

MP3:: Parkas - The Gang's All Gone
MYSPACE::www.myspace.com/theparkas

Labels: Ontario, Parkas, R.I.P.