The World Without Parking Lots is one of several long-running music projects by Chicago-based Ethan T. Parcell. According to his Bandcamp page, “Over the course of ten years, The World Without Parking Lots has taken the shape of a 13-piece free jazz orchestra to solo industrial noise, to soft tape texture and gentle songcraft.” After a run of “operas” under his Focus Group moniker, his latest work sounds like it leans toward the “gentle songcraft” side of things.

Parcell’s new World Without Parking Lots album You’ll Have To Take My Word For It is dropping at the end of May. He kicked off its rollout with the release of opening track “Rotten Bouquet ’22,” a lovely indie-pop ballad with deep, droll baritone vocals that remind me of Calvin Johnson or Kurt Wagner. “Did I tell you I slipped down the steps/ And that the bystanders were merely unimpressed?” Parcell sings, over acoustic guitar and piano that seem to plink in and out of the gorgeously droning backdrop. “I’m not tired, at least not in that way,” he concludes. “I’ll hang it upside down, my rotten bouquet.”

Listen below.

TRACKLIST:
01 “Rotten Bouquet ’22”
02 “Twelve For His Heels”
03 “First And Last Name”
04 “Sequel To Cartoon”
05 “My Word For It”
06 “Showdown At Living Room”
07 “Cooking With Vermouth”
08 “Another Good Reason to Get Married On New Year’s Eve”
09 “Ethan’s New Friend”
10 “Last Light If I Can Pull It Off”

You’ll Have To Take My Word For It is out 5/27 on Dear Life. Pre-order it here.