Jr. Parks, as a boy, silently observed and mentally catalogued the music and culture of his native Louisiana, fascinated with the unending mysteries it seemed to produce. Songwriting, though, only started to develop for him as a young man after a cross country move placed him in the care of the high desert. New Mexico is an arresting landscape of rocks and juniper trees that, in turn, replaced the native cypress and pine forests of his childhood home. A few decades, a few more cross country moves (Tennessee, North Carolina), and a few million miles as the vocalist/bass player for Nashville based psych-rock band All Them Witches landed him at home in a cabin somewhere deep in the Ouachita Mountains. His acoustic debut reflects the bayou south, the bare heart of the desert, the mornings in Appalachia when everything is covered in mist, the miles travelled, the quiet, the late nights in nature, and the heartache and the grateful joy of a life on the road.

“My driving forces are discomfort and connection, making room for the spectrum of emotions we all face, while laughing at them.” Mynolia’s sharp debut All Things Heavy (Bronze Rat Records) does just that – simultaneously validating and ridiculing our most human behaviors. Having a hometown is a foreign concept to Mynolia, who was born in Germany, grew up in New Zealand, Canada and Spain, and had some transformative experiences as a child in India. As a young adult she settled in Berlin, but returned to more familiar habits recently and moved across the globe again, to live in rural America. “With no cultural or national identity whatsoever, that lack of anchor made me cling onto music like a lighthouse in the fog.” It’s no surprise that her songwriting is informed by a broad pallet of influences, however, she weaves all these threads into a cohesive, honest and striking style. A slightly tilted form of Folk emerges as a potential box – but boxes don’t suit this artist, who continues to invent herself as a vulnerable dreamer, armored by heavenly melodies, and lyricism that zooms the listener in and out, from her most personal heart to the realities of our collective experience.  Her sophomore record is due to be released in 2025, during which she will be on the road in North America and Europe.