Last seen as lead vocalist with the Maroons, playing worship music somewhere in the wake left by Radiohead, Johnny Parks has resurfaced with a sound which is broadly pop, but owes quite a bit to Uncle Tupelo's alt.country entourage.
Nomads are typically found journeying through barren lands. So it is that this album seems to tell the story of one wandering through a spiritual desert, yearning for an intimacy with God once known but for now unattainable. The theme is visited through a number of metaphors as the album progresses and also serves as a cry for God's power to be known more clearly not only in the individual but throughout the world. This is most clearly spelled out on "Nomad":
I'm a nomad in this place
Just longing to see your face
And the desert that surrounds me
I know it is not my home
I hear the groaning deep within me
I feel the longing that surrounds me
We're crying for the king of heaven
To let the kingdom come
The music is generally understated, with the exception of a few tracks such as the honky-tonk country love song that is "Close To You." There are hints of the expansive rock of the Maroons in places, especially as the album progresses, and somehow the low-key combination of insurgent country and pop-based indie rock combine to form a perfectly appropriate backing.
The edges are rough and the album (and particularly the vocals) may take a while to grow on the listener, but the result is well worth exploration.
4 tocks
