Anders Parker – The Wounded Astronaut

“I know that some say rock is dead,” Anders Parker declares on the penultimate song of his new EP. “But I never heard a word they said/’Cause my guitar was set on fire/As I destroyed my amplifier.” Then Parker proceeds to do just that, launching into a frantic double-time outro that sounds like he’s trying to outrun an explosion — and it’s not clear whether he makes it to safety. That’s the closing stretch of “Fast And True”, a phrase which pretty accurately sums up this choice six-song set.

The Wounded Astronaut consists of outtakes from 2004’s excellent full-length Tell It To The Dust, but betrays no taint of leftovers. The Varnaline/Space Needle leader sings in a shell-shocked voice, counterpointed by guitar squalls that will have you ducking for cover.

While Jay Farrar and Richard Buckner drop in for cameos, their presence is more an indicator of the desolate emotional territory Parker covers than anything you’ll actually notice. The focus stays squarely on Parker’s withering reveries, with most of these songs building toward a sense of resolution that keeps receding, mirage-like, into the distance.

The only thing to do is play the record again.