Tess Parks: Blood Hot (Optic Nerve Recordings)
Thanks to an arresting voice that lies somewhere between Mazzy Star's Hope Sandoval and Jessica Larrabee from Brooklyn's skeletal blues duo She Keeps Bees, 20something Toronto native Tess Parks was initially signed to Alan McGee's 359 Music label and earlier this year released I Declare Nothing, a well-received collaboration with Brian Jonestown Massacre frontman Anton Newcombe.
This vinyl- and digital-only release marks the British debut of her 2013 solo album, an 11-strong collection of woozy, pared-back psychedelic blues turning on a mixture of Cramps-style riffing and barely-there guitar parts that add atmosphere but not much else. Slow-churning rockers Somedays and Love Around top and tail the album, but at most points in between the mood is funereal, the overall flavour one of brooding menace as Parks's lyrics unspool at a speed which makes you think she was weaned on cough syrup and Diazapam. She's like an kohl-eyed indie-goth Lana Del Ray - the little girl who got the first Velvet Underground album to play with instead of the Cabbage Patch Doll.
Barry Didcock
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