Cast A Line is more than a song, it is a neat creatively balancing act that sees Christian Parker walk a fine line between darker, introspective tones and accessible melodies, lyrical deftness and gorgeous musical textures. That might seem like a lot to fit into one song, but that is the joy of the multi-faceted music that he weaves.
Sonically, it dances around the authenticity of folk as easily as it does the infectiousness of pop, it has a delicate sheen but is powered by poignant lyrics and a wonderful sense of dynamic ebb and flow, wandering between rootsy verses and more powerful, driven choruses.
Often one of the most important instruments here is space, something which is often overlooked but which is the most readily available sound to any writer and which, ironically, makes up 99% of all studios and venues. It is the space that adds the brooding silence which lingers as the notes fade. It is the space that allows the guitar notes to fully sound out as they drift away. It is the space that invites you to ponder the words as they scatter on the wind before the next line is gracefully ushered in.
Just because you have a blank canvas in front of you doesn’t mean to say that you have to fill it all with sonic colour. With Cast A Line, the use of musical space is something that Christian Parker has turned into an art form in its own right.
[…] for the most part, he is a genre of one…which is what all artists should aim to be. Songs such as Cast A Line are both subdued and addictive, rolling along on a whistful vibe and reflective lyrics, Slow Life […]