by Lauren Rosier
Since first discovering them perform at LAUNCH Music Conference in Lancaster, PA several years ago, the Brooklyn-based trio, the Parkers, have been hard at work with their recently released self-titled EP featuring four hauntingly elegant dark pop gems ready for radio play. Sisters Anya-Parker-Lentz and Kate Parker-Lentz and drummer Henry Kane deliver a solid, dark pop/R&B 4-song set comparable to artists like Billie Eilish.
The EP opens with the first single “Let’s Disappear,” a sophisticated and hauntingly dark pop track with layers of waning synths and slick hip-hop beats. The lyricism is aesthetically beautiful and descriptive; they are truly able to create music that’s radio-friendly and ready for today’s mainstream music scene.
“Parachutes floating on the wind/not knowing the path/they’re following/save our ship/stranded send bottles to our shore/maybe life is better than/maybe they don’t need us anymore…”
-“Let’s Disappear”, The Parkers
On “Wasted Generation,” the trio focuses on the opioid epidemic in the United States, and how some generations are wasting away on drugs and alcohol. The track provides a closer look at the opioid epidemic through the eyes of a student-athlete:
“Bright smile/soccer captain with a 4.0/bored eyes/burned out/see how far he can go/he sits in class/he knows his facts/even though we know he lost his mind/his higher education/is getting high all the time/we woke from the American dream/now we’re looking for an Ambien/to put us back to sleep again…”
“Wasted Generation”, The Parkers
The trio is able to create a song that speaks politically and socially about the drug epidemic in the United States in a realistic, but artistic way.
The third track on the EP, “Bad Mouth,” has R&B/hip hop beats layered behind the sisters as they sing about an arrogant, imperious person who is constantly talking shit about others and spreading negativity. The clever, bold lyrics paint an image of someone who is constantly spreading talking behind people’s backs.
The final track, “Down For Whatever,” opens with solid percussion hip hop/tribal beats layered of the breathy vocals of Anya and Kate Parker-Lentz. This song is definitely one of those songs you listen to while getting ready to go out. The slick, rhythmic R&B/hip hop beats bring out the lyrics to the track (“Fuck school/don’t grow old/live young/just let go/give up or graduate/don’t care/I’m done/drive fast/get some/fake love, my escape”).
The Parkers are definitely a trio that you want to keep your radar. Their innovative, unique music is perfect for today’s mainstream music scene and the vocals line up with some of today’s best artists.
