After having a long career working with Lobster Records, I can honestly say that they have done a lot in their half-decade of existence. From their earliest days with Mock Orange and Joystick, Lobster Records have continued to put out the finest quality of pop-punk and post-punk music. Such is the case with the new Park disc, which has gained some serious fans throughout the numerous punk webzines. However, instead of repeating the same tired pablum, lets give “It Won’t Snow Where You’re Going” a proper view. Before this album, Lobster Records had a major hit in Yellowcard’s “One For The Kids”, with sales that would surprise many. When Yellowcard left, it was perfect time for Park to cut a new album and take the mantle of “Best Lobster Band”. Whether it is the dissonant multi-part vocal harmonies of “Day One and Counting” to the emotively spat out “You’re busy fucking everyone”, Park makes an impassioned plea to any individual listening to the album.
Moving onto “Which Wrist First”, the sharp guitar lines meshes well with the screaming vocals of Ladd, but the crux of the CD comes with the sixth cut, a song named “Numerous Murders.” In what can only be called a Taking Back Sunday-level of catchiness, all parts of the songs immediately insert themselves into one’s brain, especially the chorus of “you are the one that keeps me far from asking”. Overall, “It Won’t Snow Where You’re Going” is not going to win any awards for boldly striking out and making a new genre of music, but it will win awards for being a solid, spot-on album. There are simply not any weak tracks on this disc, just hit after hit. While profanity laws many discount the number of tracks that people could play on the radio, the simple fact is that any of these tracks could be radio gold.
Before the disc ends, we are left with tracks like “Dear Sweet Impaler”, which levels any buildings around with its sonic assault of guitars and multipart harmonies. The entire disc may operate around the same principles and general guitar sound, but the fact still is that this disc is not formulaic in any way. Now, if Park wasn’t as capable with their instruments as they are, they couldn’t just shrug off insults like that. Where 2003 might have been the year of Billy Talent and Taking Back Sunday, the energy that Park exudes will most surely make 2004 a year to remember for the band.
Rating : 8.0/10
Park – It Won’t Snow Where You’re Going / 2003 Lobster Records / http://www.parkmusic.com / http://www.lobsterrecords.com / Released 18 November 2003 / Reviewed 03 January 2004
Top Tracks : Dear Sweet Impaler, Your Latest Victim