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Parker Millsap Album and Single News

Oklahoma – bred Parker Millsap has just announced that his 5th studio album and his first in almost three years, ” Be Here Instead”,  will be released on April 9th. And it apparently sees a shift in style from the gritty and high-energy folk the Nashville based artist is known for, as well as a departure from the guitar-and-notebook approach to songwriting that shaped his earlier work. Sonically it sees Millsap experimenting with a wide variety of expressive forms 

with everything from piano to effects pedals to old school drum machines in the mix, the album excitingly warping genres to great effect and even including what is described by Millsap as a ” disco-Americana show tune”!! 
When it comes to the writing itself he has forgone the character-driven storytelling of his past in favour of more introspective and subsequently more revelatory narrative, Millsap describing the lyrics as feeling like ” words I needed to hear from myself, and not just things i wanted to say to someone else”. 
” Be Here Instead” was produced by the legendary John Agnello, more usually associated with rock, indie, punk rock and garage rock artists such as Kurt Vile and Sonic Youth, and mainly recorded live using Millsap’s own band.  
Fans can get a taste of what to expect from this intriguing sounding upcoming project with the release of the album’s lead single  ” The Real Thing” which features guest vocals from the incredible Erin Rae. Talking about the track, Millsap says ” It’s a song whose meaning has revealed new layers to me over time. At first it was about being on the road and missing my wife, then it was about my general distaste for internet communication, and then the pandemic hit, and it became about having to depend on that type of communication and being starved for physical closeness. The thesis of the song is: Facetime ain’t shit.”.

 

Although ” Be Here Instead”  often finds Millsap wandering into new terrain, the album remains firmly grounded in the sophisticated musicianship he began honing as a kid growing up in the small town of Purcell. Raised on Texas singer/songwriters like Townes Van Zandt, he started writing songs on acoustic guitar in his early teens, then made his debut at the age of 19 with the 2012 album Palisade. With his self-titled sophomore effort arriving in 2014, Millsap released both The Very Last Day and Other Arrangements to widespread praise, with famed rock critic Ann Powers dubbing him a “star in the making” and Rolling Stone stating that the latter album “mingle[s] the sacred and profane to rollicking effect.” Through the years, he’s also made his name as a captivating live act, opening for the likes of Jason Isbell, Patty Griffin, and Lucinda Williams and taking the stage at major festivals like Bonnaroo, Austin City Limits, and Newport Folk Fest. And in a particularly memorable turn of events, Millsap joined singer/songwriter Sarah Jarosz for a 2016 show in Atlanta and drew raves from none other than Sir Elton John, who hailed the performance as “one of the best concerts I have ever seen” and noted that the night “restored my faith in music.”

 

 ” Be Here Instead ” is available to pre-order now  https://orcd.co/behereinstead

Keep up to date with all Parker Millsap’s news via his website www.parkermillsap.com where you can also find links to all his socials. 

Visit https://thinkcountrymusic.com/ for even more articles, features, interviews and reviews.  Think Country is always bringing country closer.

 

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