Morning Parade: Pure Adulterated Joy
Morning Parade
Pure Adulterated Joy
(So Recordings)
The overdriven single-note guitar, sweeping synth, snapping snare and anthemic vocal of âShake the Cageâ opens Morning Paradeâs new Pure Adulterated Joy. âAlienation,â the second song of these ten, has a cool beat again and solid vocal to recommend it above the âpluppingâ predictability of its sweeping-for-no-real-reason atmosphere.
I like the flicka-flick metallic backbeat and soft vocal to âReality Dream.â Itâs a nice floaty tune and even the heavy guitar lead at its end doesnât overstay its welcome. âCar Alarms & Sleepless Nightsâ has a pretty cool, loud lead, but for the most part it has that overly sleepy Radiohead vibe to it. Steve Sparrow can sing though. âAutoinjectorâ moves a bit better in its unapologetic production of layers and drummer Andrew Hayes is on fire throughout.
Again we get the groove of a snapping snare, Sparrowâs fine vocals and Chad Thomasâ single note leading on the big, fun, commercial, gonna-make-the-girls-sing-along âSharing Cigarettes.â âSeasickâ has some neat Ben Giddings key sounds near its tail. I like the desperate upfront push of the lyric on the ender âCulture Vulture,â with Sparrow barely taking a breath and how bassist Phil Titus lays back with Thomas in the groove.
Letâs face it, Morning Parade is a band of a certain style, enjoying a certain modern day production that maybe substitutes a little too much for atmosphere and emotion. Still, the arrangement of the overall sound works well for this 5-piece from Essex.