Artist: Joyann Parker
Album: Out of the Dark
Label: Hopeless Romantic Records
Release Date: 2.12.21
Ready to take on the world, Joyann Parker escapes the ill-lit prison of her own mind in the deeply soulful, slow-rising title track that ends her sophomore LP Out of the Dark. Throwing off the shackles of fear and self-doubt that weighed her down in a song of transformation and transcendence, Parker’s face must have felt the warm sunshine of liberation after it was recorded. There’s little possibility of recidivism.
The indomitable successor to Parker’s well-received debut album, Hard to Love, Parker’s latest festival of classy, R&B-flavored Americana finds the acclaimed singer-songwriter from Minneapolis boldly and unabashedly exploring all facets of her personality. Alternately sultry and sassy, Parker’s strong, dynamic vocals lead the parade, strutting all over a bawdy, unrepentantly sinful “Dirty Rotten Guy” – think Mae West fronting a brassy second line shimmy through jazzy New Orleans – and smoldering through the rusted, country blues whine of “Gone So Long.” She warns her fellow ladies about a wolfish cad in “Predator,” with its smooth, lurching Latin groove, and lifts the rich, simmering gospel blues of “Carry On” and its Book of Isaiah inspiration to the rafters, while revealing her vulnerability in the plaintive roots-music ballad “Either Way.” She’s a complicated woman.
Writing all 11 songs with guitarist Mark Lamoine, who co-produced the record with Kevin Bowe, Parker exudes confidence, showing off her classically trained keyboard chops in the rollicking, up-tempo “What Did You Expect.” Packed with hooks, it’s as catchy as the sizzling “Hit Me Like a Train,” a vintage rock ‘n roll boogie-woogie workout worthy of Chuck Berry’s approval. Parker and her skilled band know how to have a good time.
—Peter Lindblad
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