(photo: myspace.com)

The harsh reality of being in a band in 2009 is that the odds of being around by the time 2010 rolls around are not in your favour.  I can count on my fingers and toes (and those of  5 to 10 friends) all the great (and semi-great) bands that have come and gone before I’ve even really had a chance to appreciate them.

Such is the case with The Parkas, a band who were hailed as one of Canada’s most energetic live bands, and a sleeper hit at 2005’s SXSW music festival.  Now, after 8 years of making music together, the band has decided to call it quits.  Their third album, and swan song, is called You Should Have Killed Us When You Had The Chance and is a bold, loud, brash send-off.  Rather than being the sound of a band on the brink of collapse, its full of verve and vigour, and sounds like a band on the cusp of truly coming into their own.

Fiona Stewart (Rock Plaza Central), Andrew Collins (Skeletones Four), Jesse Whiteside (Tacoma Hellfarm Tragedy), and Selina Martin all make appearances on the LP, which was produced by Dale Morningstar (whose previous credits include work with The Tragically Hip’s Gordon Downie and Great Lake Swimmers).  There’s shades of The Replacements–another great live band that burned out before their time–and the no-bullshit rock of The Clash on tracks like opener “Don’t Say No”.  Such a shame that I’ve only just been introduced to them in the twilight hours of their time together, but rest assured I’ll be keeping track of what Michael Brown, Paul Thompson, and brothers Greg and Mark Rhyno do next.

MP3: The Parkas “The Gang’s All Gone”
Myspace: The Parkas