Parker Longbough – ‘The Falcon Sleeps Alone’

Out now, ‘The Falcon Sleeps Alone’ is the latest single from Parker Longbough. The track comes from his upcoming album, ‘Off Front Street’, which is set for release on October 22.

Singer songwriter and musical artist Parker Longbough, from Anchorage, Alaska, has been making us sit up and listen here on EP since 2019 and his latest single, ‘The Falcon Sleeps Alone’ is no exception.

Longbough, real name Matthew Witthoeft, has been really busy this year, starting out with the release of his 8 track album, ‘Crackle/Hiss’, which told the story of his time in quarantine last year. This was followed in July by his 5 song EP, ‘246 Tapes Volume 1’. But upcoming album, ‘Off Front Street’, was written and recorded entirely before the start of the Pandemic, and therefore is somewhat more conventional than his other releases this year.

‘The Falcon Sleeps Alone’ is a shoegazey sort of tune, hitting the same sort of way as the 90s indie sounds of the likes of Dinosaur Jr. and others. Laid back and drawly, his vocals slide in over the grungy percussion and guitars of the instrumental track.

On first listen you wonder if the Falcon represents Longbough himself, but not long after you wonder if it’s a car, and a flying car at that. But listen again, and you return to the first impression, and this comes no less because of the Napoleon Dynamite vibe Longbough brings to the track; he’s not as off-kilter as Dynamite, but there’s an innocence to his deadpan delivery of the lyrics, a certain childlike whimsy.

Even though ‘The Falcon Sleeps Alone’ is just over 4 minutes long, you don’t register it, because the instrumentals are so finely layered that you pick up on a different aspect every couple of seconds or so. Clashing cymbals, drums hitting out a somewhat marching beat, distant organs, and jangling bass are each given their own place in the sun, their own time to shine.

Find Parker Longbough and his music online on Facebook, Twitter, Bandcamp, and his official website. You can check out the video for ‘The Falcon Sleeps Alone’ below.

About the author

Lisa has been writing for over 20 years, starting as the entertainment editor on her university newspaper. Since then she's written for Popwrapped, Maximum Pop, Celebmix, and ListenOnRepeat.

Lisa loves all good music, with particular fondness for Jedward and David Bowie. She's interviewed Edward Grimes (Jedward), Kevin Godley, Trevor Horn, Paul Young, Peter Cox (Go West), Brendan B Brown (Wheatus), Bruce Foxton (The Jam), among many many more. Lisa is also available for freelance writing - please email lisa@essentiallypop.com