VIDEO PREMIERE: Brian K & The Parkway Lean Into Positivity-laced Indie Rock on “Straight Through feat. Cat Popper”

For Brian K & The Parkway their time is now, resolute on making their voices heard with the release of their debut album Killing The Bear. “It’s like a mission statement for our band,” says Pagels. “We’re dreamers AND doers. We’re visualizing the future we want and then seizing it with hard work and courage. It’s not that we don’t have doubts and fears. It’s that we ultimately don’t let them get the best of us.”

Brian K & The Parkway formed in 2021, and although the guys refer to the band name fondly as “very Jersey,” it denotes Pagels‘s name and the fact that The George Washington Memorial Parkway connects the route between their Northern Virginia homes. With Killing The Bear, they had to make a very conscious effort to establish their own identity and sound. Their music, a nod to the ‘70s rock sound of artists like Springsteen, Tom Petty, and Warren Zevon, is guitar-based, roots-oriented rock, infused with a healthy dose of soul and R&B. Piano and organ play a critical role in establishing the sound along with some horns thrown in for good measure. The duo dubs their sound “coastal heartland rock,” reflecting the fact that their major influences are artists that hail from coastal areas such as New Jersey, Florida, and California, but are known for their own mix of classic heartland rock.

Winners and losers, struggle and strife, joy and sorrow, conflict and peace, Brian K & The Parkway hope that the stories conveyed in Killing The Bear encourage the listener to look a little deeper and find an inner strength to keep pushing straight through.

Today Glide is offering an exclusive premiere of “Straight Through” featuring Cat Popper, known for her band Puss N Boots with Norah Jones and Sasha Dobson and for her work with Jack White, Ryan Adams, Willie Nelson, among others. Reminiscent of The Band with a spunky roots rock meets art pop vibe, the song finds the band leaning into a sound that is reflective yet forward-thinking and fun. Popper provides playful harmonies and there is an airy vibe of positivity that permeates throughout the song.

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