The Charlie Parkers If You Knew E.P.


Classic British 'tunesmiths' The Charlie Parkers have been compared to the Beatles, Kinks and Bowie. Whilst those influences certainly shine through, I wouldn’t quite put them up there as a timeless act. They do have some meaningful songs where their flare for different and original song writing stands out compared to much new music.

They’ve kept their E.P. simple by using basic instruments to recreate that classic British sound. The first track 'There are Many More Important things than What We Have for Tea' is a blend of the Beatles and the Libertines but with their own unique stylistic twist. It’s quite fast paced and demonstrates their knowledge of the fingerboard; it’s one of those songs everyone at a festival can dance to, or it might find its way to the opening credits of a British independent movie.

The rest of the E.P. is slower and I do feel a little cheated by this. Nevertheless, the title track 'If you knew' is a smoother classic rock song with some great guitar licks and vocal harmonising. 'From Now On' sounds an awful lot like a slower Talking Heads track but it’s still modern enough to sound original.

It did take a few listens to get into but I’m glad I stuck with it because I really like the E.P. now. What I like best is the raw ’60s garage production sound which makes it sound like the E.P. was recorded in their rehearsal space with minimal tools, but ends up sounding professional.

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