Darkpark has been likened to an intersection of a jam band and an indie band. I’m not sure I totally agree with this. The music is more akin to an updated Neil Young. Please visit their website at www.darkparkmusic.com and read on…
Mostly the brainchild of Larry Flynn, darkpark hails from Vermont where they play shows with multiple lineups. Mr. Flynn has transplanted the darkpark project from California to Vermont, where he moved a few years ago. This album was created while Mr. Flynn was a dweller of the left coast. It was actually created in both Sacramento and Oakland with help from Todd Roper on drums, Dan Eisenberg on keyboards and Robert Walter providing some guest organ work.
Larry Flynn, operating as guitarist, vocal master and songwriter, is able to orchestrate a great sound and create a chill experience for the listener. The lyrics are quite intellectual. So intellectual that my feeble, public school-trained brain could not follow them to fruition. That did not factor, however, in my ability to appreciate this work. The music flows like a river through all seven tracks.
The vocals on the album can come across as slightly forced. The music on the album is so well done that I feel that the vocals just don’t match up at times. I hear the cracking of Peter Brady’s vocals poking its head out from time to time. It actually made me appreciate it a little more.
I found that this was an awesome album to listen to on your commute home. You can put it on, picking up at any point and enjoy it, never feeling like you need to skip a song or turn it down. Better yet, play it when you get home while preparing dinner. May I recommend that you prepare a steak, medium rare, with chopped horseradish, grilled asparagus and well done tater tots. The music will make your evening. Before you lose yourself in the music, bring me the food.
In review of the band’s website, there is an empty section where their upcoming shows would be. That’s a shame because I think that an evening with darkpark would be a fine evening indeed. I’d have to give darkpark four Vermont Teddy Bears for a fine effort.
I’d like my steak now.