Wounded Astronaut [EP]

Anders Parker | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 22, 2005)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: EP
• Label: Baryon Records
• ASIN: B0007TFI1K
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #530,547 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Culled from the recording sessions of this singer/songwriter’s well-received 2004 LP Tell It To the Dust, these half-dozen songs--at first glance--seem to serve more as an addendum to that album than as a new recording. But it only takes seconds into the six-minute, high-volume blast of melodic fury that is the title track to make a pair of observations: it’s evident why the Brooklyn native kept these selections away from the more calm and subdued Dust; and followers of Anders Parker’s former bands Varnaline and Space Needle will find familiarity in Astronaut’s jagged pace and vocal sincerity. A bevy of musical pals, including Jay Farrar, Richard Bucker and Joan Wasser (Those Bastard Souls), spark collaborative efforts on the psychedelic "Everyone Will Shine," the sweeping pop number "The Smile" and the crunchy-chorded "Fast and True." Then Parker reaches deep in his gut for the Cobain-esque "Come Off" ("Let’s cure the evil that lurks within"), adding another line to his resume as one of music’s vastly underappreciated artists. --Scott Holter

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I can't stop listening to it!, July 8, 2005

By 

MDC (Campbell, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wounded Astronaut (Audio CD)

I had never heard of Anders Parker until I saw him perform live, all by himself, opening for Jay Farrar at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco. Oddly enough, the only song of his I remembered wasn't actually his song...he did an absolutely beautiful rendition of the Beatles' Norwegian Wood, easily one of my favorite Beatles songs ever. I was so blown away by it that I immediately ordered The Wounded Astronaut EP such that it would arrive while I was out of the country. Once I returned, I popped it into my stereo and listened to it...and I thought it was pretty good. Then I listened to it again, and I loved it, and it's just snowballed from there. I'm never somebody to listen to anything over and over again, but I just cannot help it with this album...it's just infectious! In the past three days I've listened to it at least a dozen times, and here I am listening to it again.

It's hard to say exactly what makes it so good, but I find myself drawn to its energy. When the songs aren't enveloping me in another stunningly arranged bout of rock music, it's building tension. When the guitar licks break back in, especially after the quiet "Everyone Will Shine", it's downright cathartic. It's an album that never overstays its welcome...never lingers too much on one thing, never skips over something good too quickly. My greatest annoyance is that it's so short; I could listen to it for hours and hours, and in fact that's what I do anyway, despite its length. Anyway, this is a fantastic EP and people really owe it to themselves to give it a listen...or several.