Cale Parks
Illuminated Manuscript
Polyvinyl Records

Solo albums, or even side projects, are a dime a dozen these days, and here is yet another one. What sets this apart from the rest? It is the debut solo offering of Aloha drummer extraordinaire Cale Parks, and drummers just don’t tend to do solo albums. And, as much as I hate to say it, maybe this is a good example of why they don’t.

If I had to choose one word that best describes Illuminated Manuscript, it would be random, in the worst way possible. The album is filled to the brim with obnoxious, out of place, cheesy synths. Sure, there are some interesting textures here and there mixed in with some interesting vibraphone parts, but aside from that, the album just loses me. Songs begin, build ever so slightly, then just end, going nowhere. I could see these songs working together as the score for a movie or something (actually, it could lead to a pretty awesome soundtrack for an indie film), but in the context of an album, the music just doesn’t do it for me. There is no flow between songs, and some of the melodies even go as far as to make me cringe. And Park’s true strength, his drumming, is virtually nowhere to be found.

Now, to be objective, there are some decent moments, mainly toward the beginning. “Galaxy 8180″ is a short and fun synthy romp with a rare appearance of vocals. “Pretty Boring” is just that, especially as an opener, but still has some gorgeous moments that remind me of brisk winter nights. Aside from these two, the rest of the songs are just too much, allowing the fanatical melodies to run a little too rampant throughout.

While Parks totally rules hard behind the kit (just listen to any Aloha record), he makes some plain silly decisions on Illuminated Manuscript. Decisions that I wish he hadn’t made, which is a damn shame.

MP3
Wet Paint

Website
http://www.polyvinylrecords.com
http://www.myspace.com/caleparksmusic