MAJOR PARKINSON

Major Parkinsons debut is rocking, creative album full of ear-worms. It starts with an amusing joke intro, but after that the album contains nothing but great, creative songs. The band does tend to stick to a song-based format on this album, but there are several tracks that have a section at the end of the song that leads into the next track.

Musically, this album is at least equal to their next album, "Songs From A Solitary Home", which was my #1 album from the year 2010. However, in some ways, it's a bit less adventurous. The band sticks to the more upbeat tracks, with only a few exceptions (Casablanca, Awkward as Drunk, Greatest Love) that tend to take a relatively laid-back approach. Guitar is definitely the dominant instrument here, although the tracks are for the most part lead by the bizarre yet amazing vocals of Jon Ivar Kollbotn. He typically sings in a deep, throaty voice that sounds like it must come from a gigantic man, but he stretches his vocal chords into some twisted high-pitched vocals on several songs. In fact, there is a bit more usage of his non-standard singing voice on this album then in their follow-up.

It's really difficult to pick a top track from this album. Every track has something about it that makes it stand out, be it the wicked, thundering bass in the middle of "Bazooka Mirror", the ridiculous speed and energy of "It's a Job", or simply how catchy and varied each song ends up being. My favorite track is "I Am Erica", though, which has grown on me consistently since I first started listening to the album. It demonstrates the best of pretty much everything about this album - the vocals are great, the song has at least three or four separate themes catchy enough that they should be songs of their own topping pop charts, quirky instrumentation, and amusing lyrics. Furthermore, like every song on this album, the song contains multiple distinct "sections", yet the skill with which the band moves from one to the other is purely organic, there is no sense of the band trying to bend the music to suit their new music idea. As well, what would be considered a "chorus" does exist in the song, but it's not really used in the way of a typical chorus; it is not the catchiest part of the song, nor the part that stands out the most; it is simply repeated the most.

Despite the fact that this band is unabashedly catchy pretty much from the beginning to end, and although I desperately wish this is the kind of music played on the radios, the music is a bit too weird to be truly popular on the radio. The vocals are too out there; the band is not afraid of tossing in some atonal notes here and there; this is almost avant-rock-pop.

The bands music tends to have a darker slant to it, with somewhat cynical lyrics; It's a Job is a song about a murderer dealing with the consequences of his actions, despite trying to live a wholesome family life outside of his job. Silicon Hips deals with a love of plastic perfection; Death in the Candystore about equating love with material gifts. Awkward as a Drunk deals with substance love ("Oh, tell me why I was laughing / when you [%*!#]ed up my mind"). Yet, despite this, the album is generally upbeat in sound, and I listen to it when I want to put myself in a good mood. Go figure.

Norwegians Major Parkinson from Bergen started in 2003 as a quartet of Jon Ivar Kollbotn (vocals), Andre Lund (guitar), Eivind Gammersvik (bass) and Jan Are Rønhovde (drums), which won the Eggstock festival in Bergen the same year.Rønhovde left his place for a while to Rasmus Hungnes, with whom the group recorded an eponymous EP.Hungnes quit shortly after to be replaced by Cato Olaisen, while over the years the band would also welcome guitarist Alf Borge and keyboardist Lars Christian Bjørknes.As a sextet Major Parkinson eventually released their eponymous debut in 2008, recorded at Radiostar Studios and produced by Sylvia Massy, mostly known for her work with Red Hot Chili Peppers, Tool, Johnny Cash and System Of A Down.

''Major Parkinson'' is a weird but inventive piece of art.It combines the Heavy/Stoner Rock idiom with elements from Circus, Cabaret and Theatre Music in a charming and quite original blend.The tracks of the album are very short, but contain dense, rich and quirky musicianship.The music of the group is based on schizophenic groovy parts akin to SYSTEM OF A DOWN and heavy, attacking, furious vocals by singer Jon Ivar Kollbotn, interrupted at moments by dual guitar workouts and psychedelic textures.Actually the theatrical approach of the group reminds of a less melodic and keyboard-based A.C.T. with an overall darker mood.Among the uptempo grooves the sextet offers plenty of sudden breaks, while the gears return all of a sudden in a powerful and passionate package.Multi-vocal harmonies are also in the menu, adding sometimes a poppy and more accesible taste to an album, which is nevertheless an entertaining and pleasant listening.

With their debut Major Parkinson manage to come up with a genre of their own.Heavy Cabaret Prog?Stoner/Circus Music?Quirky Art Rock?Whatever you call it, this is definitely a nice listening experience with its own identity.Good band, warmly recommended album.