BILL PARTON TRIO - ALBUM REVIEW

Bill Parton Trio - Bill Parton Trio 
Bill Parton Trio - Bill Parton Trio

Release Date: 17th March 2014

These three chaps from Adelaide reckon they are purveyors of piano pop-rock that take in parts of Coldplay, the Beatles, Radiohead, Jeff Buckley and Zero 7. I've got to say I can't agree with this self-assessment. This 6 track album opens up with 'Closer Now (feat. K21 & Cam Blockland)' and, to my humble ears, this sounds like Savage Garden with Michael Buble guesting on vocals and a bit of slightly out of place rapping. 'Falling For You Again' is pure Heart FM stuff with moments that sound like James or Keane but mostly this is cheesy listening in the Maroon 5 of The Feeling vein. Apart from sounding like the title of an angry teenager's song about his parents, 'So Unfair' is also a bland, washed out attempt at soul with no punch as Bill sings about his love being "a low priority" and how he wants his girl to accept that she's "so unfair".

The Buble influence is back on 'Going Away' but there is a little more Robbie Williams about the crooning this time as the piano plods along relentlessly. The name Bill Parton Trio, to me, suggests either jazz or a huge ego and on 'If You're Here With Me' the three guys finally play something approaching jazz but it's still at the insipid smooth end of things which does nothing for me. Final track, 'Stalker Man' starts with the sounds of children in a playground which is, frankly, creepy given the song title and I just can shake the image of a smooth jazz pianist hanging around playgrounds to get inspiration. Shudder. As you'll be aware by now, I'm not a big fan of this album but if you like your music smooth, piano based and with all the charm of a 45 year old barfly, then this is for you.


More information: www.billpartontrio.com 

Comments