Chosen by Monk
The Nashville blues-infused southern rockers celebrate their visit to the Über Kingdom this weekend, which culminates in an appearance at the Maid Of Stone festival, by injecting us with a healthy dose of #Novocaine on this, the second taster from their upcoming sophomore album:
Drummer Dylan Turner filled us in on the origins of the song:
‘Novocaine’ came from an idea Alex, our guitarist, had in his back pocket for some time. At the time he showed it to us I had recently written some lyrics with no real melody or “song structure” in mind, but I immediately realized the riff he brought to us was perfect for the lyrics I had just written.
The soft minor intro to the exploding guitars was the perfect combination of soul and heavy! After taking it into the studio our producer, Stephen McKnight had an idea to change the intro riff to a Rhodes style piano and from there we were off to the races. The drum track was played on a beautiful Bucks County drum kit that sounded amazing in the studio! Novocaine is a track full of energy, passion, and power. We hope it will leave the listener anything but numb after listening.
Guitarist Alex Bender elaborated further:
‘Novocaine’ was derived from an idea I had saved from a jam a few years ago. It was a swung, sixteenth note chromatic riff that when paired with certain accents from the drums, created a bluesy almost seductive feel that was perfect for a verse. Originally written on guitar, our producer, Stephen McKnight, heard the riff and had the idea to transfer it and feature a Rhodes electric piano. This added even more character to the darker mood of the track. We felt dynamics were very important, so we used different instrumentation to achieve a wide dynamic range.
There were acoustic guitars used for rhythmic textures throughout the song. Most of it was tracked on a Gibson Les Paul, doubling any necessary parts with a Gibson SG. The guitar solo for Novocaine, was enjoyable to develop. It was played on a Les Paul that was running into a Wah effects pedal. The Wah allowed me to be even more expressive with the notes and the way I approached the solo. My favourite bit of the song is the chords our producer created to support the riff in the pre-chorus. It has a descending bass line that utilizes some augmented harmonies over top that sneak in and create a moment of dissonance before the eventual resolution in the powerhouse chorus.
‘Novocaine’ allowed us to explore new song-writing territories with different feels but in a way that is still Parker Barrow. Soaring vocals, hard-hitting drums and plenty of guitar help to drive this song while still maintaining a level of restraint to let the track breathe when needed. Like a temptation we cannot resist, Novocaine satisfies all the desires we love, without any of the guilt.
- Parker Barrow will return to the ÜK as special guests to The Damn Truth in November.
