Parker McCord – Heavy Silence EP Review

I’ve said it before and it bears repeating, and maybe it’s just because I’m ever a cynic, but I often find it so hard to talk about the things that mean a lot to me. I struggled my way through it a few months ago with my review of the Ethel Cain & Colyer show in Vancouver BC and I still sometimes feel like I didn’t put the words together right.

Parker McCord will be forever tied with Ethel Cain in my mind. Through the trauma filled music of Ethel Cain is how I came to know Parker, and to know his music, and him as a person. Very much a multi-talented person that contains many multitudes, Parker is a skilled musician, and moreover than that, a deep lover of all of the music that I find important to me. His new EP, Heavy Silence releases this Friday November 18, 2022 and I felt like chatting about it.

Heavy Silence is a four song EP, with Parker’s voice (joined on Blood Manor by Kendall Rucks) and fairly sparse musical accompaniment, and the EP, much like it’s title is heavy indeed. The songs are emotional, gloomy, and betray a significant amount of angst. It’s the angst of throwing up after drinking all night, winding up in bed with someone who isn’t the person you’d wanna be with, it’s not eating and liking how that feels – even though deep down you know it’s bad for you, it’s a bad drug trip, it’s simultaneously waiting to see someone’s name on your caller ID while also dreading the same. Maybe it’s the grey weather of this Canadian November, but Heavy Silence was exactly what I needed – because it feels like someone singing directly to me, speaking on experiences that I know all too intimately.

However, there is a sharp edge to Heavy Silence that reminds me of the egg teeth found in birds and reptiles, that allows them to crack through their shells as hatchlings, to break out into the wider world. Heavy Silence’s edge is one of growth, despite the angst, it’s a “the only way out is through but I’m gonna brood the whole way out” type of vibe.

It’s a quick listen and I recommend taking the time to do so.
Heavy Silence is available this Friday on iTunes and bandcamp – presave here.

You can find Parker on Instagram

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