Tess Parks – Blood Hot – 359 Music 359CD6, 41:00 [12/3/13] ****1/2:
(Tess Parks, vocals, lead & rhythm guitar, bass, tambourine; Thomas Paxton-Beesley, drums, guitar, bass, tambourine, keys, cello; Andrew McGill, lead guitar, rhythm guitar, 12 string guitar; Thom Huhtala, bass; Anthony Nemet; drums, lead guitar, backing vocals)
Channeling Mazzy Star and Courtney Love, Tess Parks Blood Hot rocks out for 41 solid minutes. This subdued rock genre is not new but I can say that I have not experienced as polished an artist/CD as this in a long while. The mid-to-late ’90’s music scene was flooded with downer style slow jams that couldn’t keep people awake, let alone interested. Tess will not only peak your interest, she will make you beg for her to give you more.
If you are looking for further comparisons to Blood Hot, you may want to refresh yourself with The Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. The first track Somedays, Gates of Broadway, the quick ditty Open Your Mind and Goodnight Love are my favorite tracks on the disc, but I could easily pick them all. Like BRMC, Tess Parks has fine tuned the reverb & echo in the mic to sooth the listeners ears. At the same time The Good People (backing band of stellar performers) have polished their work down to the shiniest tint possible.
I definitely dig the sound of Tess and The Good People. This is one artist who I get the feeling will hang around for some time to come. Bang yer own drum Tess, indeed!
TrackList:
1. Somedays
2. Gates of Broadway
3. When I Am Young
4. Refugee Camp
5. Stick Around
6. Open Your Mind
7. Walk Behind Your House
8. Goodnight Love
9. This Time Next Year
10. Life Is but a Dream
11. Love Around
—Paul Pelon IV