Austin’s indie punk trio Parker Woodland vie for liberation on their indie punk rock album There’s No Such Thing As Time.
The band is of KUTX, including playing their Rock the Park with Luna Luna and their SXSW Rock the Shores showcase w/ Waco Brothers. They played Chicken Ranch Records 20th Anniversary SXSW Party w/ Peelander-Z, and the annual Peace Fest w/ Willie Nelson, Jon Dee Graham, Urban Heat and more. Members of the band have opened for Melissa Etheridge, White Zombie, Bill Medley of the Righteous Brothers, Big Freedia, Ministry, and John Cameron Mitchell (Hedwig and the Angry Inch). The album was produced by Brent Baldwin who made a name for himself collaborating with acts like Big Star, R.E.M, Wilco, …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, and Alejandro Escovedo.
At its core, Parker Woodland has always been a celebration of community. All three members, Erin Walter (vocals, bass), Andrew Solin (guitar) and Keri Cinquina (drums), have been fixtures in Austin’s indie music scene for decades. Known as an activist band (with Walter an award-winning Unitarian Universalist justice leader), their anti-racist, pro LGBTQA+, socially progressive music, live shows and general stance on living is metered out with fun and energetic positivity.
“This is a record for anybody who needs joy in their life,” says Cinquina, an institution in Austin’s queer music scene. “Anyone struggling with inner demons, or is dealing with grief. We want to be a light in someone’s day.”
“The album covers heavy topics — from real stuff like climate destruction, war, and the fight for trans rights in Texas to imagined stuff like monsters taking over the planet at the end of the world,” explains singer and bassist Erin Walter.
“‘Benediction’ is the last song we wrote for it. Andrew Solin (Parker Woodland guitarist) and I felt we needed an acoustic song to complete the emotional arc of what is otherwise a fully electric sonic journey. He played me the opening guitar line he wrote, and I knew immediately the key lyric started with, “Even though your heart is breaking ” — something to contrast the painful and the hopeful, which is Parker Woodland’s signature.”
While There’s No Such Thing as Time fiercely rejects the status quo, Walter, a Unitarian Universalist minister, didn’t want to leave listeners “in the valley.”
“That’s the hope of “Benediction,” that “No matter what happens, we will be together again — we will hold hands again — love will survive. After all the drama of this album, it feels good to end on something sweet and hopeful. So we named it ‘Benediction’ and made it the final song of the album. I hope it brings people hope when they hear it.”
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