Single Review: Junk Parlor – Vultures and Weasels

Three words associated with this band are bohemian crooner punk. Those words are now buried deep in this psyche of mine. I envision a guy on a hill wearing dungarees and supporting an impressive beard belting out songs of the past. But what we have is Leonard Cohen-esque poetic vocals together with a violin solo that’ll take your breath away.

Say hello to Junk Parlor, a band who’ve been together since 2013 in the Bay area. A band likened to Nick Cave, Tom Waits and Gogol Bordello, an interesting infrastructure.

Their single “Vultures and Weasels” released on 6th August starts the journey of this travelling sound of Jason Vanderford vocals and acoustic guitar, with Calvin Lai’s ripping clarinet, Tim Bush’s growling bass and Robin Goodrich’s swaggering beat… this is Junk Parlor.

“Vultures and Weasels” is an attention seeker, and Laela Peterson’s beautiful viola solo within is exactly that. Her sound is one that may make Melody Berger of the Berger sisters and Gangstagrass proud of the instrument they both perform. It adds to Jason Vaderford’s crooner folk vocals and penetrates Robin Godrich’s atmospheric drum beat – astonishing.

It’s on repeat, it’s on a loop, it’s a mother nature track of shamanic creation. Let’s hope the album offers more emotion to this crooner punk genre.

Junk Parlor are here in the UK touring soon. So, why don’t we all just go and see them play?

  • Aug 08 – The Bedford, Balham, United Kingdom
  • Aug 09 – Aces and Eights, London, United Kingdom
  • Aug 10 – Fox And Firkin, London, United Kingdom
  • Aug 11 – The Greys, Brighton, United Kingdom
  • Aug 12 – Coachworks, Brighton, United Kingdom
  • Aug 13 – Millbridge, Plymouth, United Kingdom
  • Aug 14 – The Maze, Nottingham, United Kingdom

Junk Parlour: official | facebook | twitter | bandcamp

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