GRAHAM PARKER

Cloud Symbols 100% 7/10 Parkerilla exits the Rumour for roads less travelled

“Well it don’t mean a thing, if you ain’t got that swing,” sang Graham Parker on his transcendent 1976 debut, Howling Wind. That playful splendour, roiling with fluttery melody and mixed with R&B, has always been an undercurrent in Parker’s lexicon, but here, inspired by longtime Nick Lowe producer Neil Brockbank (just before his untimely death), he dives in deep. The shuffling piano and accented horns coalesce in the simple wishes of “Dreamin’”, while “Ancient Past” finds Parker, toying with time and memory, savouring every moment.