So you’re missing the shimmering guitars and harmonies of Kingsbury Manx? Or, maybe, you’re quite disappointed with the new Shins album (rightfully so, I would say)? Or, maybe, you displaced that recent Jayhawks album (find it)? You shouldn’t worry though! The Parson Red Heads are back with their new, sixth album, Blurred Harmony. With this one, they should comfortably cover all those above ‘missing in action’.
Ok, playing jangly pop/Americana is no new thing these days. The field is so crowded, you’re bound to miss somebody or start taking some of the albums from the genre to the drift record store. The thing with The Parson Red Heads is that after ten years on the scene and (along with this one) six albums under their belt they have so perfected their craft that they simply stand out. It is simply that on Blurred Harmony everything seems to gel the way it should - from the songwriting (musical and lyrical), playing to singing. The guys have gained in confidence so much that they did the whole production themselves, and that worked too!
The whole album has that dual sense of familiarity and discovering that ‘familiar’ as it is something completely new. It is obvious that singer/guitarist Evan Way and his cohorts have an extensive record collection from The Beatles and The Birds, through Big Star (including the tracks nobody else has heard before), Neil Young, or any of the modern contemporaries mentioned above. But what is essential when your music can be categorized and defined by a certain style, they have definitely given it their own touch and take. And that touch and take do produce some great listening.
The shimmering intro of “What Have I Become”, the very precise and descriptive title (of the music) Sunday Morning or Big Star-like “In A Dream” really show why they have such a great status over in Portland, Oregon where they reside. Even if the guys call their harmonies blurred (kidding or not), they absolutely deserve much wider recognition. These redheads are definitely the right heads.
