John Parkes is a Leeds-based singer songwriter who has been in his share of Indie guitar bands but seems a natural as a one man urban folkslinger armed only with an acoustic guitar, mouth organ and a penchant for straight talking.
This modest ten minute, four track EP is described as "less confrontational" than his previous release, Illegal Songs.
Instead of songs about the economic crisis or terrorism, he opts for more up front and personal themes with three of the songs reflecting on the fall out of lost or half forgotten loves.
The title track is a Noel Gallagher style ballad which Parkes says is about reconnecting with an ex-lover on Facebook where age and wisdom puts the former relationship into a fresh perspective - "we let so many pieces drift away and they're not coming back".
There's more drifting in Fireships, a quietly desolate two minute song where floating, burning and drowning serve as metaphors for emotional pain.
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On History 2 there's a hint of The Beatles' For No One ("cried for no-one") but it is actually about a someone left behind in East Germany.
Parkes' debut album (Faithlessnesless) ended with a tune entitled You've Never Heard Of Me and in a similar self deprecating way he winds things up here with the heavily ironic My Hit Song.
This shows both a realisation that things could be getting a little too forlorn and indicates that he's pragmatic enough to see that the songs on this release won't be his ticket to fame and fortune.
Instead, they are just four more decent tunes that you probably won't be hearing on the radio.
John Parkes' blog
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