REVIEW: Sam Parkin - With Friends
One of the best-kept-secrets of Seattle’s music scene still in 2022, Sam Parkin has a new compilation of songs out now titled With Friends—a fantastic double EP that should hopefully move the needle somewhat away from that “secret” status. Released on October 21st via Den Tapes, the compilation offers four brand new songs along with a previously-released Sam Parkin self-titled EP on the cassette’s flip-side.
Appropriately named, this collection features a cast of friends that garner “supergroup” status within the Den Tapes community. With bass and piano contributions from Evan Captain, guitar and violin credits from Austin Dean, bustling saxophone features from Chet Baughman, and steadfast drumming from Mike Sampson and With Friends-engineer Jak McKool, it’s somewhat astonishing that it is Parkin’s commanding vocals and songwriting that undoubtedly glue everything together here. That last part is maybe not so astonishing if you’ve ever caught a live performance from this group. (Note: be on lookout for a rescheduled With Friends release show, and/or catch them at Victory Lounge on November 19, on night two of the first ever Den Fest!)
Mining in a field of familiar folk and acoustic-rock elements, Sam Parkin manages to find a highly distinctive and comfortably familiar sound all at once. Side A’s “Who’s To Say” offers a great example of this dynamic; patiently centered around a cyclical chord progression and vocal melody, the track expands with extremely tasteful piano playing from Captain and layered melodic sax lines from Baughman, both of which complement and support Parkin’s signature vibrato vocals. By the final refrain, the lyricless melody itself is all-encompassing, expertly conveying the wistful emotional depth of the song without any further lyricism required.
Another personal standout from this set is a solo bonus version of Parkin’s song “First That I Have Found”. Not included on the physical release but available with the digital release on Bandcamp and on streaming services, and noted as a “field recording from the Olympia Peninsula”, it easily lands among my favorites for its stripped-back, haunting energy. From front to back, With Friends is a major highlight of Seattle’s prolific music output this year, and I am looking forward to hearing more from Sam Parkin in the future, whether in the solo format or with friends.