Andrea Parker
Kiss My Arp (Mo Wax/Beggars Banquet BBNYC018)

People who dug Andrea Parker's DJ Kicks CD will no doubt enjoy her first "real album," Kiss My Arp, which navigates the same dark terrain but with more of a personal stamp, since the songs are all written by Parker. Like Bowie's Berlin albums, this one starts off like it's going to be a pop album and then gets more and more experimental as it goes on. "The Unknown," which starts the album, could almost pass for a Depeche Mode song, though with Parker singing, and the second track, "Clutching At Straws," uses some really moody strings to broaden the palette a bit, sort of recalling (though not that directly) Portishead.

As the disc progresses it settles into more of an instrumental vein, veering sharply away from the more structured approach in favor of some really cool exploration into the artist's characteristic beyond-the-fringe shadowy beats. Midway through it starts getting kind of violent (the sorta scary "Some Other Level") though not in an industrial context, more in a "this is what it sounds like in a really twisted brain" kind of way. There's a good deal of jungley drum and bass influence as the album progresses, and though the songs are primarily textural, they're pretty consistently interesting and engaging.

It's a solid debut effort, especially given that the DJ platform has not traditionally been a leap-off point for consistent artistry. Andrea Parker is very keen and somehow manages to balance the pure coolness of her sound with a palatability that, without becoming mainstream, remains accessible to people (like me) who don't get out to see where this stuff is coming from. Hey, shut up, I'm in a wheelchair!

Some moments get kind of soundtracky, though not in a cheesy way (the end of "Going Nowhere" is straight out of a psychological thriller), and the brief "Sneeze" is a little cutesy, even while being extremely dark and moody. "Return of the Rocking Chair," coming at track 10, brings vocals back into the mix, but after the progression of moods and ideas that has transpired, it gives the album a much more depressive edge than you start getting from it when you first put it on.

Hers is an emotional sort of electronic expression, and the strings on this song build on the tone of the previous tracks, kicking the whole thing up to a new place. It's an epic that becomes more amazing the more you listen to it; probably the best song on the album. None of the songs is what you'd call a standard, but they're very deep-feeling and ambitious – the sort of stuff critics think Bjork and Beth Orton do really well, but Andrea Parker is much more subtle and potentially greater than both of those artists, who have both received far too much praise for far too little reason.

Kiss My Arp is not itself a masterpiece of any kind, but it's a really strong indicator that Parker may seriously have some true greatness to come. And if not, it's still a pretty fucking great album, the sort of thing you'd do well to put on when friends are dropping by, so they'll all be like "Wow, what's this playing? You are so cool." I've tried that as well with Jethro Tull, but this works far better.

Loud Bassoon rating scale

Review by Howlin' Mountbatten