Scottish songwriter Scott C Park returns with his ambitious second album Revival.
If you don’t yet have a favourite artist from the Isle of Lewis, you do now. His name is Scott C Park and he isn’t messing about as he releases his second record in just 15 months. Growing up in a religious setting, Park’s first album ‘Crossing the Line‘ explored the emotional fallout of parting from his faith, ‘Revival‘ is about facing what comes next. “This album is about rebuilding,” Park explains, “not a value system in terms of ethics, but rebuilding what give me joy, what gives me pleasure, and how I feel about feeling that pleasure.”
Revival begins with upbeat indie track ‘Marlene‘, a fun song that will get you bouncing and possess a fantastic sing along chorus, it’s no surprise that Park chose this song as the first single and opening track for this album. Moving along at electric pace, ‘That’s Love‘, the second track and second single continues the indie rock vibes and if you weren’t already having a little dance by now, you certainly will be by the end of ‘Nananaw‘. When Park talked about rebuilding what gives him joy, these opening three tracks certainly brought me plenty of joy.
Built around a swaggering bassline, ‘Preach‘ feels very Weezer to me, a band that Park cites as an inspiration alongside the likes of Wilco, Beck and Father John Misty. ‘Porch Golfing‘ moves back towards the indie rock sound but pushes further towards alternative rock. You won’t quite be starting a mosh pit to it but it’s still very rock ‘n’ roll. Hitting the halfway mark we have a lovely acoustic number, ‘Looking for This, Looking for That‘. It’s perfectly placed in terms of the album, acting as a bridge from the indie first half, to a more experimental second half.
My personal favourite, track 7 is ‘Work of Art‘. The lyrics feel deeply personal, the vocals are sublime but musically, its simply outstanding. When the screeching guitar enters around the 3 minute mark, this song goes from being a good song to, well, a work of art. ‘When your Pocket Money’s Gone‘ sees the acoustic guitar return for this fun folky number. A close second when it comes to my favourites from this album, ‘Pepperblack 40‘ is another one with a big anthemic sound. It’s the most prominent use of the string section, best drumming and best vocal harmonies of the album. An all round incredible song.
The album ends with the two songs that I imagine were the most intense to write lyrically, a song entitled ‘No-one’s up in Heaven When I’m There‘ tells a story in itself really. It’s dark and serious both lyrically and musically giving that one last reflection on the lingering impacts of religious repression and the loneliness it caused. The album closer is also the title track. ‘Revival‘ brings a bittersweet and cathartic end to what is a fun and beautiful second record for Scott C Park.
In support of the album Scott and his band ‘The Late Arrivals’ performed headline shows in Glasgow and Edinburgh as well as a co-headline in Inverness and at the infamous Belladrum Festival. This week the band close out the album support tour with shows in Harris & Lewis. With just two years between releasing a debut single and releasing a second album, the Scott C Park caravan is rolling on at incredible pace, so get on board. Yep, the C does indeed stand for caravan.
