Daniel Parker experiments with music of differing moods. His third solo effort, As a Junebug, is an album of juxtapositions if not downright contradictions. The majority of his tunes are thoroughly thought out, down tempo sonic balladscapes and mellow understated rock songs, hopeful and thoughtful. But there’s also another side. On As a Junebug, Soft, slow acoustic ballads are followed by feedback guitar instrumentals with distorted keyboards. Pianos and other acoustic instruments are played in reverse. Appalachian folk instruments are loaded with reverb and used as atmosphere. Keyboards are used for percussion instruments and bass, while drum machines are enhanced with real cymbals. Not surprisingly, the mood of the album turns like a compass without the north pole -- journeying from hope to humor by way of desperation.

Within each mood there’s a certain raw emotional quality that identifies Parker as a unique, mild-mannered eccentric both in mind and music. As a songwriter, recording artist and mu