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For
additional reviews of 'Songs In A Northern Key' or if YOU
would like to review this record, please visit the E Squared Records
Review page here.
"In
1997 We called Anders Parker "an intuitive, emgerging classicist
destined to carve out his own chapter." And so he does with
Songs In A Northern Key, dancing drunkenly in the crevices between
The Who Sell Out and the White Album while the ghosts of Nick Drake
and Townes Van Zandt nod approvingly. A dense, arresting masterpiece
equally steeped in alt-country, post modern phychedelia and shot-in-the-heart
classic folk."
20 BEST ALBUMS OF 2001
Magnet Magazine
January 2002
"It's
the most determined and solid thing Varnaline has ever done, at
once a return to and quantum leap from the group's four-track origins....the
record Varnaline should have made years ago, an alternately grand
and closely contained mid-fi alt-country-rock record; it's at once
cinematic in its imagery and intimate in its feel. It has both a
stinging simplicity and a maddening opaqueness..."
No Depression
July - August 2001
"Sharpen
your corners, listeners. There's a whole lot worth looking at here.
Songs in a Northern Key is full of textures...the album manages
to be both backwoods and beautiful."
Swizzlestick.com
July 2001
"Just
because an album captivates you doesn't mean it's easy to write
about. It's sometimes hard to get a handle on what exactly makes
the record so special....Songs in a Northern Key is hard to digest
immediately....then you recognize "Indian Summer Takedown"
for the subtle classic that it is....You also note that surrounding
those sleighbells on "I Don't Want" is one of the loveliest
melodies you've heard in a while....It's a little like finding yourself
under a sprawling, starless sky and bonding with the few lightning
bugs you can catch in a bottle."
The Record Exchange Music Monitor
August 2001
"One
of our favorite artists of the past decade. While the past few years
have seen an amazing number of Varnaline albums hit the horizon...this
fantastic band remains a puzzling obscurity that most folks are
unaware of. Songs In A Northern Key is probably the best Varnaline
album yet. The songwriting has never been stronger...and the vocals
absolutely kick our brains out of our skulls. Singer/songwriter
Anders Parker is as good or better than any of the big name legends
out there. His tunes are laced with wonderful sincerity and the
man possesses a true passion for writing unforgettable melodies.
After hearing this album, we can only speculate as to why more folks
have not picked up on this band...yet." (...cont.)
Baby Sue
August 2001
"The
album itself is a hodgepodge of mid-fi rock, backwoods country and
contemporary American folk. It’s cohesive and filled with literary
spark and instrumental virtuosity — an effort that rewards
with each successive listen. There is everything from skewed pop
(“Song”) to neo-psychedelic guitar rock (“Green Eyed
Stars”) to straightforward Americana (“Indian Summer Takedown”).
Fans of the isolationist rock of Grandaddy and Sparklehorse or even
the quasi-country of Son Volt and early Pernice Brothers will likely
dig. Highly recommended." (more...)
Bret Booth
Style
Weekly
Tuesday August 14, 2001
"Country
maverick Steve Earle has lost a lot of riders during his roller-coaster
career, but you have to say this much at least: the guy knows talent.
Case in point is his signing of Varnaline to his E-Squared label.
The band, which centers around singer-songwriter Anders Parker,
has turned in a minor masterpiece on "Songs In A Northern Key,"
with a bit of production assistance from Earle and a batch of great
songs that shine with a simple, rustic beauty. Parker and Co. can
rock out convincingly, and do, on distortion-heavy tracks like "Song"
and the poppy "Anything from Now," but the haunted lyrics
and haunting tunes of "Blackbird Fields" and "I Don't
Want" are what this over- discussed alt-country thing was supposed
to be about in the first place. "
Dan LeRoy
Daily
Mail
Thursday
August 16, 2001
"Right
off, let me say that this isn't country and while I'm sure critics
nationwide will be pouring over their thesauruses seeking the perfect
word to describe the kind of music this album contains, I can say
for certain that it must spring from a truly original vision. Varnaline,
the band, the project, the whatever, comes mostly from the talents
of Anders Parker with help from a few buddies. To say his music
is unique is to be totally facetious. I would call it a mix of Johnny
Cash and Sonic Youth if I had to give a description. The album features
many poppy elements but also enough squalling dissonance and white
noise to create a sound collage of homespun folk music and post-modern
rock unlike any ever attempted. That both Steve Earle and Ray Kennedy
took part in the production gets me wondering where the future of
country music will head and it is probably no small coincidence
that the guy who mastered this CD has the name Hank Williams. Weird
or what? You may have to listen to this a few times to get into
it but it is well worth the effort and possibly the most barrier-stretching
Americana record ever."
Scott Homewood
Freight
Train Boogie
August 29, 2001
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