Richard Parker - Mechanisms Album Review

By Harry Harris / March 1, 2012

rating: 3

Richard Parker is the father of Spider-Man. Richard Parker is the MP for Lyme Regis. Richard Parker is a fictional tiger from the novel Life of Pi. Richard Parker is an instrumental 4-piece from Leeds, and their EP Mechanisms is released on March 19th via experimental label Communal Blood. A full length album is scheduled for release later in the year, but this EP gives a good indication as to what this band is all about. People often shy away from contemporary instrumental music, often there is a preconception that it will be boring, or self indulgent, or both. In truth, structure is often what€™s missing, with the worst perpetrators choosing seemingly to play their instruments simultaneously into microphones until an album€™s worth of time has elapsed, rather than take time to craft the song from the ground up. It almost seems as if the opposite is the case here. The songs here, though well crafted and carrying with them a real pop sensibility that makes for very easy listening, don€™t push the musical envelope in the way you would expect from a band self described as post-rock. Still, this isn€™t to say that there aren€™t flashes of beauty here. The title track begins with a beautiful guitar figure that is slowly accompanied by swelling tremolos and a tight rhythm section. The sound is cavernous, splashed with reverb and building up to a mighty noise. Second Hand continues in a similar vein, carrying an almost filmic quality €“ indeed, upon listening to this record you get the sense that you are watching some great drama unfold, the dynamic changes in the songs conveying real drama and emotion. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBqD0TSoEgM&feature=related The EP€™s closing track Tempus is perhaps the best of the three, and the longest too, coming in at a shade under nine minutes. This is the track on which the band throw off the shackles and let rip a little more, the guitar work especially is a treat, taking the lead without ever being too showy or pretentious, complimenting the rest of the sound perfectly. The sprawling, lush production calls to mind the likes of Death Cab For Cutie, Sigur Ros, or closer to home the equally strangely named Tim & Sam€™s Tim & The Sam Band. If you like any of these bands, or want a good introduction to instrumental music, then I€™d advise keeping your ear to the ground about Richard Parker. richardparker.bandcamp.com Facebook: /richardparkerleeds Twitter: @RparkerLeeds