Parthenon’s 1988 debut on Columbia Records was called ‘a monumental debut’ by Rolling Stone magazine, but due to ‘first single’ issues, Columbia lost interest, leading him to goes his own way. Readers should take this as yet another warning against signing to major labels. For the past eight years, Parthenon toured as guitarist and singer with ELO Part II, now renamed The Orchestra.

Parthenon writes in the sleeve notes that Kiss The Monster could be conceived as third in a series that started with “Deluxe” and Purgatory Falls. This album is not necessarily chronological, but it is self contained and tells its story unencumbered by the modern tradition of obtuse lyrics.

Perfect is the shiny happy REM-style opener, bursting with hopeful but tentative emotions, leading up to one of the best choruses on the album. Parthenon’s singing is casual, soft but never overstated, suiting the styles of music and his lyrics. I’m not sure about the guitar break in this first song because its placement is too predictable and in some respects disjoint from the rest of the song. There is however a better break later in the album.

Name dropping Jon Brion on Yet To Say is perky – it says a lot about Parthenon as an musician (and perhaps me too!) The song uses acoustic and electric guitars to take Seattle grunge down to the sandy beaches of California – which is where most of the album lives. It too holds on to the caution that was apparent in Perfect, but this is partly abandoned on Wear My Ring – thus completing the first phase of the album.

Bones opens the next phase: a slower, more melodic song. A subtle anthem, if this is possible. Its minutia – tambourine, Wurlitzer noodlings and little synth breaks – all matter to this, the best song on the album. A vocal break leads up to the most satisfying part of the album – a tiny unexpected trumpet solo by Sarah Kramer, which is then picked up by an electric guitar. I’d love to hear a version of this song with real strings.

So here’s the answer to my opening question: All the songs on this album work because of their economy and detail. I get the feeling that Parthenon is an obsessive songwriter who is interested in developing his skills as a creator of music. In the production of this album, every component of every song matters. It’s these traits that he shares with Butterfly Boucher.

Come Clean builds from an acoustic guitar, with, surprisingly a subtle breakbeat, before a straight 4/4 comes in. The climax is a testimony to forgiveness.

My Friend Hates Me starts with a lovely jangly guitar then some scrunched electrics before the Californian sunshine comes back in. It’s mainly humorous but serious in parts. The poptastic “do do do’s” should last longer – instead they disappear almost before you become familiar with them (more songwriting economy). The guitar solo that leads to the final verse makes sense here because of length, style and placement.

I’m Looking Through You sounds like a Lennon / McCartney song – because it is, even down to its execution. Its predecessor, the curiously dark Crime which bears an occasionally warped bassline demands something like this as a companion.

The closing sequence of songs starts with Better Than Good, a vibrant song that recalls and wholly rejects the emotional dithering that dogged the opening tracks. Just Might Fly almost borrows from Nirvana unplugged. Perhaps the most sonically involving song on the album, it uses a toy piano, backward effects, pads and a whistle. The vocal bridge that yields “from where I lie” is attractive.

But the closing Everything’s Different Now is a hushed song to his baby daughter (compare this to Tori Amos’ Ribbons Undone), concluding the transitions that are documented throughout this album. If it’s unclear how Parthenon feels, “I’m under your tiny thumb and over the moon” (the best lyric on the album) makes it obvious. The songs on Kiss The Monster are therefore not full of summer, but in the bloom of spring. An album that chronicles change. That final track renders the cusp to a new season.

Kiss The Monster is available for purchase now and released on Parthenon’s own label nine18 and on Rob Ayling’s Voiceprint label in the UK.

Track picks: Bones, My Friend Hates Me, Just Might Fly

I’ve always preferred the electronic fixated version of Billie Ray Martin, rather than the Memphis oriented sound of 18 Carat Garbage. Twisted Lover, which was once to be a single, is taken from 2003’s BRM New Demos.

Twisted Lover takes its hooks and cues from Yazoo, Giorgio Moroder and Donna Summer, adding those dark, torch song vocals that she’s renown for.

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