Parmalee's 'Feels Like Carolina' review: Well-crafted debut

Parmalee's debut album, "Feels Like Carolina" (Stoney Creek), is so good that the band is perched on the edge of an overnight success story. Hey, it's only taken the quartet a decade or so of touring to get there.

Thanks to the well-crafted, pop-leaning smash "Carolina," interest in the group -- and its combination of likable, Luke Bryan, lighthearted country and arena rock -- is running high. Matt Thomas' distinctive vocals have that tender-but-tough quality that works in a variety of settings, from the catchy country of "Close Your Eyes" to the laid-back, summer-soaked sweetness of "Day Drinkin' " and even out to the southern-fried Def Leppard-like anthem "I'll Bring the Music."

PARMALEE

"Feels Like Carolina"

THE GRADE B+

BOTTOM LINE Great start for country's next big band.