Single Review: ‘Carolina’ – Parmalee
11 years ago Liv Carter 5
Another sign of the increasing homogenization of music genres, rock band Parmalee follows up their country radio debut, ‘Musta Had a Good Time,’ with a song that arguable belongs there even less, ‘Carolina.’
I shouldn’t even waste time explaining how this is in no way, shape or form country music. This is not just reminiscent of early-to-mid-2000s rock music, this is not just a countrified version of that, this is exactly the same. Everything about this is rock. Same song structure, same guitar mix, same effects, same use of the oh-oh-ohs in the bridge. This has been done before, exactly like this, by Daughtry, Nickelback, Matchbox 20 and hundreds of other rock bands. The “country” mix is marginally pulled back from the original version, but not enough, and if you find yourself repackaging a song this way, maybe it’s time to just go write a new song, a country song this time, from the ground up.
Parmalee, as a band, grew up in the NC and LA rock scene, and came to Nashville in more recent years, perhaps because that’s what the cool kids were all doing. But why rock bands who come here then seem to think they have to call themselves country, I don’t understand. It is perfectly acceptable to base yourself in Nashville, but still remain a rock artist, if that is what you are.
The radio edit of ‘Carolina’ was remixed from their 2008 EP version by their new label, Stoney Creek Records, the people who made Randy Houser‘s otherwise excellent ‘How Country Feels’ sound like AC/DC’s ‘Highway to Hell.’ It’s built on simple, straightforward lyrics. ‘Home is where my heart is still beating / I don’t know when I’ll see her again / I hate to see her cry when I’m leaving / But now I’m a thousand miles away again,’ Thomas opens the song, and the lyrics do not get more challenging from there. Shades of a great rock song lurk beneath the surface, however, and the melody of the chorus in particular is good work. The vocal performance feels contrived, and Thomas would have been better served if allowed to sing freely, without the guitar mix weighing down on him. This is especially clear when, nearing the end of the song, the heavy guitars retreat and a quieter strum is pushed forward into the mix.
I don’t know what is going on at rock radio these days that makes Parmalee feel that they don’t have a shot anymore in that format. To market this as country feels like some executive’s cynical attempt to exploit the broadening of country radio right down to the last possible dollar.
‘Carolina’ will impact country radio on February 4.
Listen at www.parmalee.com.
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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