TK Webb 'Phantom Parade' album

To say we are pleased to release TK Webb’s latest record, Phantom Parade, would be an understatement at best. When we first heard TK play this material last year anticipation at The Social Registry began to mount. His previous record KCK had not even been released and he had already begun fleshing out a lot of this material while collaborating with Shannon Funchess. We still have a message on our answering machine TK left in the wee hours of the morning as he considered whether it was appropriate to play all new material at his record release party. As a duo, with Shannon’s wild singing and almost primitive percussion, TK was able to open up the breadth of his songwriting. By this point he had taken a box cutter to his dreadnought guitar adding a second pickup closer to the bridge bringing out a heavy bottom end, which when manipulated with a tape echo, formed a rhythm section for the two to build on. A few months later, TK enlisted Jared Eggers and Tim Shrider, of Brooklyn outfit Silent City, to play bass & percussion. TK managed to keep these new additions to his band under wraps, surprising everyone when he took the stage with a full band behind him at a support slot for Black Dice’s homecoming show at Irving Plaza.

Nicholas Vernhes, who shared our excitement for this material after seeing the band live, volunteered to record at his studio The Rare Book Room. Phantom Parade is certainly TK’s most ambitious and fully realized recording to date, in the over thirteen years he has been playing music. At 28 years old, having been an in-demand guitar and harmonica player for years, having played both as sideman and solo artist all over the country, and playing an average of a show a week in NYC over the last three years, TK came to this record with a wealth of experience and drive. You can hear this passion in the recording and you could hear it as he was making it, pushing the band in the sessions, treating every moment in the studio like it was his last. He even got Nicolas to sweat through a few days wrapped in a blanket riddled with a case of the flu. If you listen closely to the last track, Classy, which has Toshi Yano of Kapow playing a Fender Rhodes, you can hear the confidence as he calls the band back in from the changes with a whistle. Phantom Parade is a record versed in the American musical tradition, woven out of everyday experience, and TK’s voice is riddled with the kind of gruff character that speaks volumes and contradicts the passive androgyny that permeates so much indie-rock today.

“Webb proves that the simplest equation can be a winner as long as the heart is there. Webb’s raucous vocal tales make him sound like he’s survived
two wars and lived to tell.” – Black Book on TK Webb’s last record KCK.

“Webb’s foremost talent is his phenomenal guitar playing. In every song he mixes muscular open chords, taut finger-plucked leads, and nimble thumb-picked bass lines. The resulting sound is so complex that, listening to one of his albums, you can easily mistake his lone guitar for three different instruments.” – Index Magazine on TK Webb’s last record KCK.

Biography

Arriving in New York in 2000 TK Webb immediately began playing once, twice, sometimes three or four times a month. From self-described “crappy duct-taped based hootenanny nights” to full-on club gigs opening for such bands as White Magic, Blood On The Wall, Black Dice, Franz Ferdinand, Ugly Cassanova, Fiery Furnaces, Enon, The Double and Love Is Laughter. Honing his skills solid folk blues performer during extensive touring of the US began desire more broadened psychedelic experience from his already expansive original country blues material. had satin with countless live bands recording session over years but felt in late 2005 it was time bring world full band.

Enlisting Tim Shrider and Jared Eggers of Brooklyn rock band SilentCity on percussion bass respectively modern, inspired Americana influenced record was ready to be built. The Social Registry release number 27, Phantom Parade by TK Webb is thing of rarity in today’s over farmed world of victims culture jingles dumbed down alt-country. The record omits over-whispy faux-finished folkisms so as represent more realistic plane of musical existence, experience drive. is spirit penned grocery list of young man both inspired and insulted by the universe nation he lives dies in. Coming from less genre specific sonic corridor along with less lyrically dark approach, has made departure from “whiskey-fuelled-terror-ranger” styled night vision quest of his previous releases shinning light on more modern collection of songs.

Phantom Parade is an album influenced by the aforementioned folk blues, psychedelic concussion, country music and whisper of noise. You can hear specter’s spook of bands like The Gun Club in tastily drugged trot of opener The Desert; dusty sarcastic daydreams of Neil Young in tracks like Lesser Dudes, You Got Faded, Sunday Night Oh Baby No; The Velvets droning in repetition of Which Witch; the more playful freakedelia of Roky Erickson or Mayo Thompson on songs like Phantom Parade and What I’d Mourn. There is surprisingly poppy feeling on The Spade, which is offset by brutally confused late-nighter album closer Classy with its hurtful telecaster leads one note piano engine. TK all at The Social Registry hope you enjoy record, but if not there is world of dry favorless music out instead.

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Tracklisting

TK Webb - Phantom Parade