Cale Parks

Album: Sparklace

Label: Polyvinyl

Drummers are the offensive linemen of the musical universe. They’re essential and pivotal for success and, largely, the least recognizable members of their respective teams — or bands. Aside from your Bonhams and Moons , few find the spotlight. Although fame and widespread notoriety is certainly not Cale Parks’ aim, the current drummer of White Williams and former touring member of Cex, Joan of Arc and Georgie James does step forward from behind the kit on his second solo LP “Sparklace.”

Parks deals mainly in ambient electronic music but unlike its predecessor, “Illuminated,” “Sparklace” offers sizeable hooks and can almost be mistaken for a pop record. The opener “Every Week Ends” centers around a heavy-looped synth line and lurches into interesting deviations that include dirty guitar licks and tribal drumming breakdowns. The song is flanked by brief drum solos, proving Parks is, at heart, still a drummer. “Two Haunt Me” is grounded by rapidly flickering drums and monotonous keys but is driven by a lush boy/girl vocal melody. The album’s closer, “Some Sew, Some Find,” is a rhythmically rich track that builds on increasingly frantic electronic flourishes and an increasingly urgent bass line.

With “Sparklace,” Parks seizes on an opportunity to showcase his considerable musical chops and does not disappoint. The record excels in the fact that it’s able to pack countless ideas into each song and the finished result is not a cluttered mess but rather an airy and vast record that sprawls ambient while keeping interests piqued with measured pop hooks.

Three and a half stars

Hinder

Album: Take It to the Limit

Label: Universal

Say what you will about grunge, at the very least, it can be credited for slaughtering the onslaught of outrageously awful glam metal and non-ironic cock-rock of the ’80s. Hinder, a sadly misguided and tragically popular Oklahoman five-piece , refuses to let those musical sins of the ’80s die. But Hinder is not Mötley Crüe. No, this is a whole new breed of obscenely bad rock, as evidenced by their distinction of being “the biggest selling rock artists in the mobile format” — ringtones, that is. Hinder fans can demonstrate their reprehensible taste on the go, and do so in droves.

As for “Take It to the Limit,” it picks up right where Hinder left off on their three-times platinum debut “Extreme Behavior”: processed guitars, irrelevant rhythm section, grating vocals, predictable solos, otherworldly atrocious lyrics and an utter lack of originality. The first single “Use Me” opens with this string of lyrical gems, “She wouldn’t spit on me if I was on fire / she says she loves me but I know she’s a liar / the sex is good but God she’s got no desire / that’s all right, she’s taking me home tonight,” and is topped only with the chorus “Cuz ya use me and I like it / Yeah yeah!” But, that’s not to say Hinder doesn’t have heart behind their hormone-fueled white trashy exterior. Enter: “Without You,” the paint-by-numbers ballad featuring acoustic verses, cheesy riffing, indiscernible lyrics and even some “Na na na”s.

As a whole, “Take it to the Limit” rehashes classic Hinder territory: Sex, drinking and a basic yearning for all things hillbilly related. Surprisingly, the group ventures further into power-balled territory on the record’s tail end with “Thing for You,” “Lost in the Sun” and “Far From Home.” Still, the subject matter of those “heartfelt” tracks never strays from the aforementioned sex and liquor. Alas, Hinder’s fatal flaw is their lack of creativity. Even with almost two decades worth of perspective from their heroes (Def Leppard and Bon Jovi ), they are unable to accomplish anything outside of over-produced, ring tone-sampleable mimicry. Hinder’s success proves two things: Bad taste and stupidity transcend generations.

Two stars

Wilderness

Album: (k)no(w)here

Label: Jagjaguwar

Wilderness, a Baltimore area post-punk band , is unabashedly over-the-top. Their lead singer James Johnson is the least-subtle front man of an art-rock band in recent memory. To say his vocals are sung would be inaccurate; James bellows his words from the bottom of his belly with profound conviction. Lucky for him, he’s not bad with the pen and, in turn, his voice is not a hindrance to the band. Speaking of the band, they’re no fans of tact, either. The rhythm section routinely swells and builds, their impeccably dirty guitars consistently rise to crescendos and the drums gallop towards climactic grandeur on each track.

On their obnoxiously-titled, but solid, third LP “(k)no(w)here,” Wilderness exhibits the same style of epic post-punk they’ve sharpened on previous efforts. The opener, “High Nero,” starts with hushed feedback and slowly grows into a wave of James’ bayed vocals and a mess of dramatic guitar riffing, drama being the operative word. Wilderness’ style of songwriting greatly resembles a Shakespearean drama, in that they always have a discernable climax. The middle of the record puts Wilderness’ best foot forward. “(P)ablum,” “Silver Gene” and “Own Anything” operate as mini-dramas and their relative brevity make stomaching the impact of their grandiose sound less of a chore. It’s on the disc’s latter half, where the final three tracks are all around seven minutes-plus, that the band’s style begins to grind nerves. That said, if the listener was feeling particularly laid back, the songs function as an atmospheric wash and do so well.

Wilderness meshes seamlessly as a band. Their sound borders on abrasive but considering how many indie bands (Sigur Ros , Mogwai , etc.) bore to tears with their refined and mellow “artiness,” it’s refreshing to see a band rooted in a similar scene with some bravado. “(k)no(w)here” is impactful almost to a fault, but the disc’s power and flow work to the band’s benefit the overwhelming majority of the time.

Three stars