Wastelander carves out a psychedelic and textural groove on “Papa Was a Parasite.” Cooper Formant (AKA Wastelander) makes an atmospheric splash on the opener of his new Feed the Ducks EP. The EP is a bonus of home recordings that did not make it on to his recent debut album What is Left of Me and this tune is a real gem. While there’s an obvious dissonance between the lyrical content and the sonic warmth, “Papa Was a Parasite” finds an ideal and funky in between that does well to represent contradictory nature of life at its realest.
Haunting thoughts of past and present circumstances collide amongst dizzying layers of echoing vocals, a lively bassline tucked perfectly into the corners of this mix, and guitars sputtering with intention. What we love about this track is that this lo-fi spiral gets more inviting as it descends.
Described best by the artist himself, Formant says of the song:
This bit of bedroom pop psychedelia was recorded entirely on a first-generation iPad using the built-in mic and an irig for guitar and bass. This song came about while reflecting self-depreciatingly about being a stay-at-home father who is unemployed and humorously questioning life decisions, and it turned out to be a low-key bop despite the technical limitations during the recording process. I was influenced at the time by Sparklehorse, Beck, and the memoir of the 15th-century French Carmelite monk Brother Lawrence. The key change and song within the song are reminiscent of Pet Sounds b-sides and Sergeant Peppers but with more of scrappy dirtbag ingenuity.
Listen to the rest of Wastelander’s Feed the Ducks EP and more here.
