Park

No Signal (Lobster)
by Tim Den

If Park play their cards right, they could well become the saviors of emo punk. In a genre where every yelp and breakdown is as predictable as a boy band’s dance move, Park is learning to combine math rock flashes with powerful vocals. Like Mock Orange crossed with [insert generic emo punk band here], Park keep the sappiness back with crazy arpeggios and polyrhythmic beats. Getting tired of that same vocal hook over and over again? No prob: Here comes an insane guitar fill to keep you interested. Ex-girlfriend lyrics getting too heavy-handed? Here’re some explosive open chords to keep you in the game. Singer sings the same damn notes over and over again? Well… I guess that’s the one unsolvable thing that bugs me about Park. Guitarist/vocalist Ladd Mitchell’s got a good set of lungs, but someone has yet to teach him that pushing ’em full-throttle isn’t always the answer. Lean back and try different registers once in a while, guy.

The occasionally dull vocal approach aside, Park have the musicianship, the craft, the delivery, the production, and the (still needing to be developed further) hooks to take the emo punk throne. A bit of tweaking should do it…
(PO Box 1473 Santa Barbara, CA 93102)