Saturday, April 23, 2011

MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: QUIET PARADE - PLEASE COME HOME

QUIET PARADE - PLEASE COME HOME (We hate it here without you)
 
Well, wouldn't you know it?  I got a letter with that sentiment in it when I was 22 and moved to Newfoundland!  Hee hee, it was enough to make me move back.  That's a good way to start with a new album.  For the rest of you without that coincidental connection, there are other charms that may help you form a bond.  However, you better be into sleepy music.  Me, I love a parade.  But this one is about the softest celebration you'll ever hear.

The parade is also a very short one, as this is a one-man band, Mr. Trevor Murphy.  Going out on a limb from his usual crowd, Nova Scotian rockers Sleepless Nights, here Murphy chills out to some gentle plucking and a few atmospheric touches in behind.  Over the course of its 35 minutes and nine tracks, the disc approaches significant volume all of two times.  Cut 2, the lovely End Of Days, actually employs drums that start thumping two-thirds of the way in the song, joined by horn section.  And I Never Wanted To Live Like That employs a huge choir, which is quite joyous.

I'm not the biggest fan of acoustic low-fi shoegazing, but Murphy actually has some good stuff to write about, and also has a musical trick up his sleeve on each number.  Instead of just strumming away, there's an added instrument or bit of production that makes each number different and interesting.  I Will Try is his pledge to "make this life alright", which involves buying his partner "a real house on the lake".  Cute.

The Parade is crossing the Maritimes right now, leaving Nova Scotia for points west.  Umm, these points:

Apr. 24 Fredericton, NB  ReNeu Boutique
Apr. 27 Brantford, ON Two Doors Down
Apr. 28  Toronto, ON The Imperial Pub
Apr. 29 Elgin, ON Portland United Church
Apr. 30 Ottawa, ON - Raw Sugar Cafe

No comments:

Post a Comment