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Meet the latest Berklee-originating indie artist making noise in Boston

From Berklee to Allston's DIY scene Liam Fagan, aka Park National, is a technical musician learning to appreciate the heart.

Liam Fagan, also known as Park National, during a performance at an Allston DIY music space. Aleiagh Hynds

By Gwen Egan

1 minute to read

Liam Fagan, a rising junior at Berklee College of Music, performs under the band name Park National and takes a cerebral approach to an emo-indie sound.

His first album “The Big Glad,” which was released in 2020, consists of songs ranging from 85,000 to 800,000 streams each. But with a local tour under his belt and nearly two years since his last release, Fagan is looking to expand his sound.

“Recently [I’ve been] trying to find more ways to make my music and try to find a way that works best for me, and what produces the best results,” he said. “I can really kind of like be free with the way that I make music. It’s been like an eternal quest to figure out like, what the best way is for me to do that.”

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Fagan’s technical skill on instruments, any of the number that he plays, shines through in long guitar intros and steady drum hits. And for a while, that’s what music was to him — technical and structured.

“I kind of thought about everything in a very structural way rather than where did this song come from? What’s it trying to say? I’m trying to be more open-minded with the process in general,” he said.

A participant in Allston’s flourishing DIY venue and local music scene, Fagan said playing shows in basements and meeting new bands inspires him a great deal.

“I’ve definitely been influenced by just the people that I’ve met here [in Boston] and the shows that I’ve been to, the shows I’ve played. I feel like there’s something to learn from every sort of environment,” he said.

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Over the two years since his last release, Fagan said he’s been learning to listen to his own voice.

“(This release) is kind of a transformation from writing these guitar songs, and putting vocals over them to like something that’s a little more genuine, a little more human,” he said.

Fagan’s new single, “Set My Bed On Fire,” came out Aug. 23.

Listen to Park National here.

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