For Wes Parker, sounds interlock like puzzle pieces. A ruddy guitar riff might click next to a broken piano melody, or a hauntingly angelic vocal could mesh just right with an off-kilter chord progression and D.I.Y. beat. All of these elements fit together in order to paint the personal portrait depicted in his music.
It’s almost like he’s a mad scientist in his home studio, architecting poetically primal alternative rock that could’ve appeared in the MTV Buzz Bin back in the day or would make for a fiery sunset set at Coachella.
Gathering millions of streams and receiving acclaim from the likes of Earmilk and more, he emerges as just the alchemist rock music needs with his Fantom EP [Big Machine].
“The process changes,” he says. “I usually build a song around one piece. Sometimes, it happens in a burst of inspiration. Other times, I’m mapping out an idea for a while. It’s a lot like a patchwork of finding the right pieces. It could happen instantly or take a couple of weeks. It’s very Frankenstein-like.”
The Richmond native grew up as the youngest of four kids with two older brothers and a sister. Following his parents’ divorce, he moved in with his dad who frequently jammed Beatles tunes from an old songbook. “I spent a lot of my childhood making a bunch of horrible sounds, learning music, and being creative,” he smiles.
Mom bought a copy of Green Day’s American Idiot from PACSUN for him, and it proved life-changing. He honed his skills as a songwriter and producer and also devoured classics from the likes of Muse, Radiohead, and more. He dropped out of college after one semester and co-founded the band Camp Howard alongside a cohort of childhood friends. The band saw some success on DSPs and the road, touring with everyone from Stone Temple Pilots to Backseat Lovers. Though the group eventually parted ways, Wes continued to write and record on his own. At the end of 2023, he underwent a revelation.
To make ends meet, he had accepted a job as a door-to-door salesman. The gig took him to the middle of Illinois. Two days later on the drive home, he found himself crying for the first time in years. “I knew the job wasn’t going to work for me,” he admits. “I wanted to start a solo project, but I was hesitant. I had to do it though.”
He dropped his first solo single “Why Won't You Pick Up The Phone?” in February 2024 followed by “Annie Moore” and “Tattoo.” Gaining momentum, he ignited 2025 with the Splinter EP applauded by VPM and more.
On a roll creatively, he dove into crafting what would become the Fantom EP. He nodded to current inspirations like MJ Lenderman in addition to a perennial favorite from his childhood, including Muse’s Absolution. At the same time, he prominently threaded piano into the sonic fabric of his latest body of work. The soundscape seamlessly complemented a core conceptual narrative projected via six tracks.
“I’m writing about the fall of Lucifer, and the theme is spread across the EP,” he affirms. “You’re following the Devil’s physical downfall. It starts in heaven, makes its way to the middle where it’s more earthy and mundane, and finally you’re in the bottom of hell.”
He opened up this world with “pull me under,” which EARMILK hailed as “a lustful, angry, feedback-heavy and unvarnished track.” The track itself introduces us to “a pilot who’s somewhere between the sky and the earth and going from Heaven to Hell,” according to Wes. In its wake, the crawly chorus of “spider legs” proved insidiously catchy especially when pinned to creaky chords. Elsewhere, “neck” slips from acoustic strumming into a distorted crunch. A sunny vocal seesaws above the riff, and his high register flutters as he admits, “Somewhere I lost myself along the way.” He tops it off with a wave, “Goodnight.”
“I wrote ‘neck’ about my own insomnia, which is mostly self-induced,” he reveals. “I’ve struggled with anxiety and panic attacks for my entire life. I’m so aware of the fact I have to die. I think about death in the middle of the night a lot, which ‘neck’ is devoted to.”
On “something about you,” delicate clean guitar snakes around a steady beat and the chorus gets caught up in a wave of electric fuzz. He sighs, “I don’t belong in here at the center of the earth…maybe you can lend a hand, you can lift the curse.”
“It’s about the vilest creature or person, yet there’s still an aspect of this individual you’re caught up on,” he goes on. “Our character is almost at the very bottom of Hell. The protagonist is so far removed from the initial starting place, but he’s stuck on the original love or obsession.”
Then, there’s the closer “Code Atlas.” Gauzy vocals sail over the push-and-pull of gritty guitars and hazy keys. In the middle, his vocals echoes as if beamed in from another realm.
“The EP begins with Heaven and ends with Hell,” he elaborates. “‘Code Atlas’ is super dark. The title came from a conversation with my mom. She’s been a nurse for her entire life, and she was telling me about all of the codes in the hospital. ‘Code Atlas’ is when a patient has completely overwhelmed the staff. They’re losing it, and our character has also lost it by the end.”
Ultimately, Wes is assembling the kind of puzzle that you could treasure for a long time to come.
“I hope you walk away from Fantom feeling the same way I felt when I listened to my favorite albums for the first time,” he leaves off.
