Album Review: Feels Like Carolina – Parmalee
10 years ago Liv Carter Comments Off on Album Review: Feels Like Carolina – Parmalee
Feels Like Carolina – Parmalee (Stoney Creek, 2013)
North Carolina rock band Parmalee entered country music by way of the quite stupid ‘Musta Had a Good Time.’ It functions as the opening track of their Stoney Creek debut album, Feels Like Carolina, and the tawdriness of that song is soon eclipsed by the strong set that follows.
Gradually, over the last few years, country radio went rock so it might not seem like a transition from one genre to the other isn’t that big of a change, but this album proves otherwise. The production leaves the band floating between two worlds. It doesn’t have enough bite to be a rock album, and the band doesn’t naturally sound as a country band, so it ends up losing its footing. At various points, singer Matt Thomas struggles to find the right tone, like on ‘My Montgomery,’ one of the best written tracks, which ends up suffering from a lack of identity. In other songs, such as the excellent ‘Move’ and the hyper-catchy ‘Back in the Day,’ he knows exactly how to pitch the story.
Being totally underimpressed with their two first singles, Parmalee has won me over to their side. As the band grows further and becomes more comfortable in the country genre over the next few years, I think their releases will also grow in strength and quality. Feels Like Carolina has a lot of great moments and early on it is the swaying soft-rock of ‘Close Your Eyes for This’ and the pure fun of ‘Dance’ that lift up the record.
The album finishes spectacularly strong with a trio of potential hits. ‘Already Callin’ You Mine’ will get stuck in your head after only the first pass of the chorus, and ‘I’ll Bring the Music’ brings the ’80s party rock and my favorite lines: “we got a right to do no wrong / you bring a case of whatever makes you move it / and I’ll bring the music.” And to make sure they convince you of what they are capable of, ‘Another Day Gone’ shines with an impressive vocal performance, accomplished songwriting, and a snugly fitting arrangement.
Feels Like Carolina shows Parmalee is more than just another rock band trying country. This is a pretty impressive Nashville debut and another reminder to not judge a band by its radio singles!
Feels Like Carolina hits stores tomorrow, December 10, 2013.
Feels Like Carolina track list:
1. Musta Had a Good Time (Matt Thomas, Scott Thomas, Josh McSwain, Barry Knox, David Fanning)
2. Day Drinkin’ (Matt Thomas, Blair Daly)
3. Move (Arlis Albriton, Brandon Kinney, Ben Daniel)
4. Close Your Eyes for This (Adam Craig, Trent Tomlinson, Shane Minor)
5. Dance (Matt Thomas, Barry Knox, Tommy Cecil, Landis Frier)
6. Carolina (Matt Thomas, Scott Thomas, Josh McSwain, Barry Knox, Rick Beato)
7. Think You Oughta Know That (Matt Thomas, Jason Sever, Rachel Thibodeau)
8. Back in the Day (Chris Janson, Jaron Boyer, Ben Stennis, Preston Brust)
9. My Montgomery (Kyle Jacobs, Ben Glover, Randy Montana)
10. Already Callin’ You Mine (Matt Thomas, Scott Thomas, Barry Knox, Phil O’Donnell, Wade Kirby)
11. I’ll Bring the Music (Keith Anderson, Craig Wiseman)
12. Another Day Gone (Matt Thomas, Scott Thomas, Josh McSwain, Barry Knox, Bobby Pinson)
Liv Carter
She holds several certificates from Berklee College of Music, and a certificate in Positive Psychology from UC Berkeley.
Her main influences are coffee, cats, and Alexander Hamilton.
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