“A track which again possesses the authenticity of its predecessor,” we wrote of Scott C Park‘s ‘Marlene’ back in May, “pairing an almost twee level of sincerity with a rougher edge, resulting in something heartfelt but never cloying…achieved in no small part via the wry humour which runs through its heart, a feature which ultimately grants an affirming conclusion.” The track, a glimpse of a brand new full-length Revival set for release later this summer, was indicative of Park’s brand of folk. One decidedly heartfelt yet unafraid of rawness, owing some debt of influence to the likes of Nirvana and Wilco, in spirit if not in sound.
To further raise the anticipation for the record, Scott C Park has now shared the album’s title track. Revival serves as a meditation on ideas of identity and faith, as well as the role of creativity in underpinning or challenging such things, and the new single pushes deeper than ever into these thematic concerns. Park’s childhood was spent in the church on the Isle of Lewis, meaning the word revival, in a spiritual sense, has serious resonance, though the song shows how he is setting out to reimagine the definition, at least in his own head, in part as an act of respect towards his younger self. “I’m reclaiming the term for my own story,” Park explains. “The revival I experienced while making this record was a return to the thirteen-year-old me who just wanted to write songs and play rock and roll.”
Which is not to say the baby is thrown out with the bathwater. Because while Park pushes against the strictures of the church, his exploration never feels purely critical. Rather, he treats his experiences with equal parts curiosity and compassion, acknowledging his own identity and beliefs with claiming they hold any higher value than those of anyone else. And the song has real emotional heft too, growing from subdued restraint into something much bigger, evoking a sense of melancholy majesty as the acoustic drums kick in behind howls of distorted guitar.
Revival is set for release on the 14th August.
Photo by Danielle MacLeod