Photo by Joseph Llanes / Design by Glenn Sweitzer
They released their stunning album, Feels Like Carolina, back in 2013… so it’s been a few years. Questions arise—what have they been up to? The answer arrived when Parmalee delivered its highly-anticipated album, 27861 (the zip code of its hometown of Parmele, NC) via Stoney Creek Records. Since country music is more predictable than ever, for the fans, it was surely worth the wait. They still make the same solid music they always did. But will this album get them any new fans? That remains to be seen.
27861 opens with “Sunday Morning,” an appealing tune (thanks mostly to lead singer Matt Thomas’ vocal strength) that is reminiscent of the band’s established sound, while also maintaining its mature emotional delivery. Featuring tracks laden with giant hooks (what else?) like “American Nights,” “Back In The Game,” and “Like a Photograph,” lead singer Matt Thomas co-wrote nine of the album’s twelve tracks, while the project also enlisted the help of songwriting heavyweights including Hillary Lindsey, and Ross Copperman among others.
27861 indeed. It’s nice to know you can go home again. But wouldn’t it be a little more exciting to venture off into a bit of unchartered territory?
27861 Track Listing
- “Sunday Morning” (Matt Thomas, Ross Copperman, Josh Osborne)
- “American Nights” (Matt Thomas, Tommy Cecil, Jay Brunswick, Frank Rogers)
- “Heartbreaker” (Brock Berryhill, Jay Brunswick, Jason Blaine)
- “Like a Photograph” (Matt Thomas, Andrew Dorff, busbee)
- “Back in the Game” (Rodney Clawson, Hillary Lindsey, Matt Dragstrem)
- “Mimosas” (Matt Thomas, Tommy Cecil, Jared Tyler Mullins)
- “Hotdamalama” (Matt Thomas, Tommy Cecil, Craig Wiseman)
- “A Guy Meets a Girl” (Matt Thomas, Chase McGill, Jessie Jo Dillon)
- “Savannah” (Matt Thomas, Tom Douglas, Zachary Maloy)
- “Drink it Off” (Matt Thomas, Jim Beavers, Lindsay Rimes)
- “Barrel of a Shot Glass” (Matt Thomas, Barry Knox, David Fanning, Ben Stennis)
- “Roots” (Jared Mullins, Ben Stennis, Blake Bollinger
parcbench .live 