Wes Parker’s EP ‘fantom’ bursts at the seams with sonic nostalgias, lyrical precision, and artistic clarity.

Stream: ‘fantom’ – Wes Parker

Hailing from Richmond, VA, Wes Parker is a modern artist through and through.

A man of many talents – he is known to his 200,000 TikTok followers as crust-punk comedy persona Skunk. But to the rest, he’s a striking songwriter and artist. Parker’s EP fantom (via Big Machine Rock) arrives as the musician’s answer to musical identity – tracing the fall of an angel from heaven to hell through a series of cathartic songs.

For Parker, his first love has always been the music. With alumni status at bands like Camp Howard, Parker’s music dives into his past emotions, turning addiction, heartbreak and tour life into something playful, unapologetic, and raw.

fantom EP - Wes Parker — fantom EP – Wes Parker

With fantom in particular, Parker’s ruminations on the more sentient aspects of humankind ebb alongside the nostalgic threads of early oughts punk rock, and the complex layers of alternative indie. Even though tracks like “neck” deal with late night thoughts on death, life and living, Parker maintains a light-hearted approach and the center of it all.

Where buoyant tones meet crashing guitars, Parker’s take on isolation and uncertainty result in haunting melodies and vocals dying to break free. If this is exemplary of Parker’s early work – one can only imagine the expanse of his creative mind.

Opening title track “fantom” reads like a cautionary welcome – to Parker’s world and to his capabilities. Synths in the minor key peek through layers of piano, vocals and distorted guitar solos. “pull me under” drives forth with bass and guitar-heavy grunge sensibilities, a slow beating of the fantom heart. Where “spider legs” is wonderfully muddy and gloriously layered, “neck” is playful, explosive, and addictive. “something like you” ruminates on sonic rhythms and ad-libs, finally closing on “code atlas” a dance-inflicted beat transforming into rock compositions just bursting at the seams.

Wes Parker’s musical world comes to life with sonic precision and lyrical clarity. From a world-building brimming with nostalgia, Wes Parker lands right in the line of his sonic predecessors, while offering something brand new to the modern listener.

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