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The Parkas :: "Let There Be Light"
From Put Your Head In The Lion's Mouth (Savodry Radio; 2007)
There’s something decidedly becoming about the simplicity of “Let There Be Light.” I don’t think I’d be entirely off base if I ascribed a majority portion of this appeal to the fact that the religious allusions and the repetition of the verses and choruses are reminiscent of a bona fide rock n’ roll hymn. Layered vocals in the chorus evince a swaying choir, eyes cast heavenward, and its final, amped-up iteration could have bodies in the aisles, shaking with the spirit to the line, “There’s darkness tonight / That no sun could shine through. / Let there be light / And that light be you.” Both superficially and structurally, this track sounds as if it would be properly heard bouncing vibrantly off the sanctified walls of a hipster mega-church that I might actually attend if its existence wasn’t paradoxical to the point of utopian implausibility.
The rest of the fun here is probably a function of the fact that the lead singer of the Parkas sounds remarkably like Mick Jagger, which makes the track more enjoyable in and of itself while also lending credibility to its soulful influences, which might otherwise sound a tad affected. Call this the Theory of Non-Transferable Exploitation: once the Stones stole the marketability of this sound from more authentic (black) blues and soul artists in the ‘60s it became fair game—even artistically viable—to steal it from the Stones.
Eric Sams :: 14 December 2007 |
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