Tess Parks (born 1992) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and photographer from Toronto. Having
released five studio albums, Parks is known for her dreamy psychedelic music, described by music critic Malcolm Jack as "slow, repetitive, three-chord drone-rock jams, sung in a voice so drawling and ragged that Parks sounds like she’s been gargling bong water" Among others, Parks has collaborated with Brian Jonestown Massacre front figure Anton Newcombe on two albums.
Parks had a strong interest in both music and visual art from a young age. When she was 17, she left
Canada for the U.K., moving to London to attend art school for photography. She soon began writing songs and attracting notice as a solo act, but having abandoned her art school ambitions, she was forced to return to Toronto when her visa ran out. Back in her hometown, Parks assembled a backing band called the Good People.
In early 2013 self-released the EP Work All Day/Up All Night. During her time in London, Parks had
struck up an acquaintance with Alan McGee, the legendary Creation Records founder, who had helped guide the careers of two of Parks' influences, the Jesus and Mary Chain and My Bloody Valentine. When McGee heard Parks' new music, he signed her to his newly launched label, 359 Music.
Canadian psych-pop singer/songwriter Tess Parks made a bold entrance as one of Alan McGee's early
signings to his 359 Music label in the early 2010s. Her smoky voice and tuneful, lo-fi sound seemed like a strong fit for the label's aesthetic and her 2013 debut, Blood Hot, earned her some international acclaim. Although her solo follow-up was slow to come, Parks soon found an even wider audience through her musical partnership with Brian Jonestown Massacre's Anton Newcombe, with whom she made two acclaimed duo records in the latter half of the decade.
An Oasis concert in 2002 inspired her to begin playing guitar. Following the critical success of her
debut, Parks collaborated with Anton Newcombe of The Brian Jonestown Massacre on the two following albums. After taking a break from music, her next album And Those Who Were Seen Dancing were released in 2022. The album's title is taken from a sentence often misquoted as written by German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche among others. Parks' latest album Pomegranate was released on October 25, 2024, and features a collaboration with Ruari Meehan.
ANTON NEWCOMBE
Anton Alfred Newcombe (born August 29, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-
instrumentalist, producer, and founder of the music group The Brian Jonestown Massacre. A true renaissance figure, Anton Newcombe is not only a frontman and prolific songwriter but also a composer, producer, engineer, multi-instrumentalist, studio owner, and dedicated father—a creative powerhouse whose influence resonates deeply in the music world.
Creating a heady musical brew drawn from psychedelia, fuzzy garage rock, blues, and space rock,
Newcombe's music made the Brian Jonestown Massacre a cult favorite in the '90s with druggy, Rolling Stones-influenced efforts like the 1996 trilogy Their Satanic Majesties' Second Request, Take It from the Man!, and Thank God for Mental Illness.
In the 2000s and onward, newer influences began to make themselves felt in his music, as he dipped his
toes into shoegaze on 2008's My Bloody Underground, loops and electronics on 2010's Who Killed Sgt. Pepper?, and European instrumental sounds on 2015's Musique de Film Imagine. While the vast majority of Newcombe's music has been released under the Brian Jonestown Massacre banner, he began an ongoing collaboration with songwriter and vocalist Tess Parks, releasing a duo album with her in 2015.
In the 1980s Newcombe started recording with a band called Homeland. Besides The Brian Jonestown
Massacre, Newcombe has worked with several bands, most notably The Dandy Warhols, The High Dials, The Manvils, Innaway, and The Quarter After. He recorded and produced Dead Meadow's album Got Live if You Want It, and recorded a cover of Ewan MacColl's song "Dirty Old Town" with Lorraine Leckie on her 2008 album Four Cold Angels. Newcombe has experienced drug addiction, alcoholism and depression.
TESS PARKS AND ANTON NEWCOMBE - I DECLARE NOTHING JUNE 2015
Brian Jonestown Massacre's Anton Newcombe and London-based Toronto songwriter Tess Parks
teamed up and released a collaborative album I Declare Nothing on Newcombe's own A Recordings label. The project had its genesis when the pair met up in Berlin early last year, with a few demoes subsequently circulating on the web, before they released album track 'Cocaine Cat' as a single on Record Store Day.
Tess Parks And Anton Newcombe – I Declare Nothing
Label: A Records (4) – AUK120CD
Format: CD, Album, Stereo, Gatefold Sleeve
Country: Europe
Released: Jun 2015
Genre: Rock
Style: Psychedelic Rock, Alternative Rock
TRACKS
01. Wehmut 4:07
02. Cocaine Cat 4:09
03. Peace Defrost 4:05
04. German Tangerine 4:17
05. Gone 2:50
06. October 2nd 4:19
07. Mama 3:50
08. Voyage De L'Ame 4:17
09. Meliorist 3:18
10. Friendlies 4:35
LINE - UP
Drums – Leonard Kaage (tracks: 1, 3, 7)
Drums, Bass, Guitar, Keyboards, Backing Vocals – Anton Newcombe
Electric Guitar – Ryan Van Kriedt (tracks: 7)
Guitar, Vocals – Tess Parks
Strings – Fabien Leseure (tracks: 8, 10)
Written-By, Performer – Anton Newcombe, Tess Parks
TESS PARKS AND ANTON NEWCOMBE - RIGHT ON (12" EP) MAY 4, 2018
This hypnotic collaboration between the young Toronto singer-songwriter and the former Brian Jonestown Massacre man is intriguing but difficult to read.
Tess Parks, Anton Newcombe – Right On
Label: A Records – AUK130LP
Format: Vinyl, 12", EP, White
Country: UK
Released: May 4, 2018
Genre: Rock
Style: Psychedelic Rock, Folk Rock
SIDE A.
A1. Right On 4:52
A2. Come Together 4:32
SIDE B.
B1. Grunewald 7:47
B2. I Live 5:27
TESS PARKS AND ANTON NEWCOMBE - TESS PARKS AND ANTON NEWCOMBE OCT 12, 2018
This is the second full-length album from Tess Parks & Anton Newcombe. The self-titled album
contains 9 tracks. "Right On" is the only track that has been released before on the eponymous EP released earlier in 2018. All tracks were recorded at Cobra Studios, Berlin in 2017, the majority of the songs co-written by Tess & Anton.
Tess Parks And Anton Newcombe – Tess Parks And Anton Newcombe
Label: A Records – AUK129CD
Format: CD, Album
Country: Europe
Released: Oct 12, 2018
Genre: Rock
Style: Indie Rock, Psychedelic Rock
TRACKS
01. Life After Youth
02. Monochrome Wound
03. Mount Pleasant
04. Bindle
05. Please Never Die
Written By – A Nemet, Anton Newcombe, Tess Parks
06. French Monday Afternoon
07. Die Neue Welt
08. Talking About The Weather
Written By – Anton Newcombe
09. Right On
Written By – Anton Newcombe, Ruari Meehan, Tess Parks
PLEASE NEVER DIE LYRICS
I threw all my money right in it
I made a wish for you
Happened upon a funeral
I threw my soul right in it
I made a prayer for you
Please never die
Please never die
Please never die
Happened upon your street
Said, it's funny to meet you again
I shook my head and cried
Please never die
Please never die
Happened upon Jesus Christ
Said, man I thought you was a lie
I shook my head and cried
Please never die
Please never die
Please never die
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