Americana
and Folk has seen a large revival over the last ten years with acts
like The Avett Brothers, Mumford and Sons, and The Lumineers headlining
festivals. There is an excess of new Americana bands and
singer/songwriters trying to replicate the sounds of these popular acts
with no originality that separates them from the pact. But there are
bands like National Park Radio that come along and
impress with their songwriting and passion that can make one grateful
for this acoustic/ folk revival. National Park Radio is a high energy
indie-folk band hailing from the the Ozark Mountains and their debut
album, The Great Divide, draws inspiration from their love of the outdoors and is brimming with folk anthems.
The
first track, “Great Divide” pulls you in immediately with banjo and
handclaps alongside Stefan Szabo’s honest vocal s as he sings “the great
divide is calling me”. Other standouts are, “Rise Above”, “There is a
Fire” and “I Will Go On”, where Szabo sings his hope-filled anthems
with themes of family, the open road, and a positive outlook on life.
“Monochrome” and “Steady” are rollicking love songs drenched with
honesty and stories of real passion and struggles in relationships.
Szabo and his crew have a knack for “hook-laden Americana” as showcased
on songs like “Ghost” and “Once upon a time” as they struggle through
searching for spiritual answers and wrestling with God.
The
Great Divide is an awe-inspiring album packed full of Stefan Szabo’s
hypnotic vocals and songwriting coupled with some good ole fashioned
stomp-along music. This album should push National Park Radio into the
forefront of new indie-folk acts with a hope that there will be more to
come from these modern folksters.
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