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Parker Millsap has been matching a fascination with religion with a raw, fresh voice beyond his years since he was just in his teens, and his new album The Very Last Day is his most realized vision yet.
Kicking off with ‘Hades Pleads’, a sort of ode to Persephone from the perspective of the lord of the underworld, the record smashes down the door with a vein-popping holler, a chunky blues riff and a juxtaposing touch of strings. But then the following track, ‘Pining’, shows a whole other dimension – a vocal melody of almost Sam Cooke-esque vintage with a slight edge and a cheery chorus accompanied by affecting choral harmonies.
‘Heaven Sent’ sees Millsap turn storyteller by speaking from the perspective of a gay man doing his best to discuss his feelings with his preacher father. ‘The You say that it’s a sin / But it’s how I’ve always been / Did you love me when / He was just my friend?’ he sings, with all the strain, frustration and teetering-on-the-edge hopelessness the topic requires without coming off preachy himself.
Elsewhere, Parker approaches the apocalypse with enthusiasm, emoting with his barn-raising tenor and oft-strained phrasing that gives tunes like ‘Jealous Sun’ and ‘Wherever You Are’ the appearance of being sung by a grizzled old man who has seen far too much. He shows his penchant for bludgeoning, sweaty blues with a version of ‘You Gotta Move’, but follows it up with a straining, wavering and heartbreaking vocal on ‘A Little Fire’.
Between superb storytelling and a never-uncomfortable mix of down-home elements, Parker presents one of the few examples of the gospel, soul, country, blues, rock blend that typifies true Americana out there today – and it’s nigh-on impossible to believe it comes from a slight, blonde 23-year-old boy out of Oklahoma.
