ALBUM REVIEW: Tuesday Morning – Rykarda Parasol
Noir-rock solo artist RYKARDA PARASOL is back after eight years with her fifth studio album Tuesday Morning. Parasol spent her time recording this album in between her hometown of San Francisco and Paris, creating something that, intends to “evoke scenes of Haight-Absbury in its heyday while also offering twinges of dark Francophile psychedelia.”
Listening to this album all the way through, you can hear the diversity in sounds and styles, along with Parasol’s cool and confident vocals that leave you intrigued for more. Opening with Get Down With Your Bad Self, the listener is greeted by catchy drum beats, grungy guitar and bass that immediately sets the vibe of everything just oozing of cool confidence.
That’s a vibe which carries on into It’s Been A Long Time, which mostly focuses on an alternative rock guitar rhythm and gentle tambourine hits to create a sentimental ambience that has an opportunity to go in many different directions. Some of Parasol’s main influences have been named as VELVET UNDERGROUND and JACQUES DUTRONC, both of which are evident in these two songs and throughout.
Not only can one hear the aforementioned artists, but there are moments where listeners may find themselves reminded of other singers and bands. On two tracks – A Target On Your Back and Dead Inside Too – Parasol‘s vocal style is heavily reminiscent of that of LANA DEL REY, and in the latter, thanks to its use of a sitar, you may also think of the more gentle side of ABBA’s discography, again reiterating Parasol’s ambitious combination of different styles and sounds that pays off.
Other highlights include a bluesy alt-rock cover of ZOUZOU’s Me Cherche Pas; Sketching Jardin Des Plantes, a blues rock track that feels calming with the incorporation of piano and violin; and Darwin’s Little Darling, a melancholic sounding track that somehow is still able to calm and relax you and leaves you with the urge to sway along happily to its twinkly sounds.
Tuesday Morning is a cool and confident album that leaves you calm, yet intrigued, and eager to hear what’s to come next. Honestly, RYKARDA PARASOL is a stunning artist and feels severely underrated with what she’s been able to create here, and we hope that we see more people getting into her music in the future.
Rating: 8/10
Tuesday Morning is out now via Big Hassle.
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Tuesday Morning is definitely one of of this year’s best releases. Although, I certainly don’t hear Lana Del Ray. More like Nico and Siouxsie Sioux. Rykarda’s first EP was released in 2003. Seven years before LDR. You forgot to mention the last track “Above It All.” If Nico had stayed in The Velvet Underground this is what it would sound like. Rykarda ROCKS!!