I knew this project would be one I would love from the outset. The idea of one accomplished musician taking off onto the moors of the Peak District to record a solo acoustic guitar album, accompanied only by the sounds of the landscape and its natural inhabitants, immediately excites. Add to that arrangement the significant musical skills of Yorkshireman Henry Parker, and we have a recipe for success…
And The Dark Peak delivers on this initial promise with eighteen minutes (32 if you buy the CD or vinyl copy that includes the extra song The Tuning of the Colne Valley) of pristine, impeccably fingerpicked acoustic music. Henry is an educated, high-end player who draws comparisons to guys like Ben Walker and Toby Hay, with a broad skillset and technical prowess. This is demonstrated throughout the set without being overly flashy or superfluous. Take the lovely Curlew, with its namesake’s song opening the song and a beautifully paced guitar part that allows each note to sing. The melody is complex but not tangled, and each part flows seamlessly into the next.
More in the traditional folk mold is Leaving Ashopton, a tricky, very melodic piece that contains some of the prettiest playing I have heard in some time. The use of the lower strings here is great, with each pluck shifting the music’s mood a touch. As the title suggests, there is an underlying sense of melancholy about this song that is so effective with the starkness of the arrangement, and it is either eased or confirmed by the sound of running water and birdsong as the song fades. Beautiful.
Brighter and more innocent in nature is Eowestre Clough, a technically impressive piece of dynamic picking that undulates as Henry moves from treble strings to bass, all the while nailing a tight jig. This is very different in mood to Ravens at Alport, a double-tracked electric guitar piece that slows up the playing to allow the drawn-out nature of the notes room to breathe. Being a purist, I would like to hear the acoustic version of this among the other songs, but the darkness of the pickup sound certainly suits the character of the raven.
Henry has hit a six with this lovely mini-album; the guitar playing is spot-on throughout, and the concept is very welcome. With tight melodies, wonderfully evocative natural sounds permeating the songs, The Dark Peak is a little gem.
The Dark Peak (May 1st, 2026) Self Released
Available on Digital and on CD/LP (with bonus track)
Bandcamp: https://henryparker.bandcamp.com/album/the-dark-peak