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Aug 18, 2009 Cale Parks By Kyle Lemmon

Cale Parks, the well-coiffed percussionist (and keyboardist) from the post-rock outfit Aloha and electro-pop group White Williams doesn’t seem to rest. Did I mention he also has his hand in the recordings and/or tours of Cex, Chin Up Chin Up, Joan of Arc, Love of Everything, Owen, Pit Er Pat, and Passion Pit? The man’s talented at time management, if nothing else. To Swift Mars EP, is Park’s third, and best release, after last year’s middling drum circle experiment/sophomore effort, Sparklace. This new six-song set is bursting with atmospheric synthesizers, twinkling keyboard filligress and syncopated beats that drift in smoky patterns above your head.

Parks combines his impeccable rhythms with a Gary Numan-like aesthetic on opener, “Eyes Wide Shut.” The catchy chorus proves the competent session musician can also write an ear worm hook. These tracks sometimes slip into a kind of floaty ambience. The bright and crisp production by fellow Aloha member T.J. Lipple and straightforward mixing by Apes and Androids’ Brian Jacobs tends to abade listener lethargy. Punchy numbers, such as the New Order-esque “Running Family” and the dance cut “One at a Time,” balance out the midtempo piano haze of “Crystal Air.” Parks finds a palatable equilibrium between the sides of his musical psyche that adore Steve Reich and Broadcast. With his previous two releases, Parks took the neccesary steps to distance himself from his many side projects, on To Swift Mars he reveals his strongest set of avant-pop tracks yet and takes lengths to cement his solo career as a viable avenue. (www.myspace.com/caleparksmusic)

Author rating: 6/10