Lola Parks
No Apologies
(Independent)
4/5
Vancouver-based singer/songwriter Lola Parks’ new release, No Apologies, is no dearth of honest ultimatums. Parks—real name Sandy Powlik, who formerly called Victoria home—is truly gifted, with a beautiful voice and the ability to create melodic hooks and insightful yet buoyant lyrics.
As euphonious as they are memorable—the folk/blues/jazz/country blend has a hip-hop ring to it—these tracks are multilayered, both dark and bright, both calm and frenetically fiery-spirited. “Dreamer” invites us to dream along while “Freight Train” pairs violent metaphors with pretty ones. Powlik sings that “love is like a shotgun/it leaves us blown apart,” asking “what if we can be happy?”
Armed with freight-train momentum and a voice softer than silk, Powlik argues that we are worth fighting for and urges that we look past the mess to see with fresh eyes, ones that believe. No Apologies reeks of west-coast salt—brambly yet uplifting, aching yet sighing, it shimmers like spiderwebs spun on sun-showered Canada Thistle.
Ooh I like this! Thank you, Judah – short, sweet & fiery review. Cheers 🙂