Oh Atlanta! - so sang Little Feat way back in the seventies. In the 21st century, Atlanta is home to Parade and today we review their mini album "Answer Me". Well, we have to start the review somehow and an awkward segue will have to do this time. Without further ado, let's get to the music.
Putting their sound into words is relatively straightforward - it is at the intelligent end of the indie pop spectrum and not a million miles away from PJ Harvey and sometimes even falls under the influence of the Talking Heads. Taking our pick of the songs, Bluesbunny liked "That's Hott" sprinkled as it was with cheesy synths and pounding drums with Carrie Hodge's vocals coming at you like an anguished teenager with a knife. "Sombrefas" starts all nice and acoustic, adds a shuffling drum beat then spins us into a suicidal reflection as some suitably edgy guitars make their way into the mix. "Lunch Lady" is a swooping, majestic bit of pop music that starts out kind of aggressive but just plain soars away from mediocrity. It could have turned out crass or pretentious but instead it just works as Ms Hodge chants "… stand up and blow your brains out". All the angst of our teenage urban imprisonment put into only 5 minutes and 14 seconds. Quality!
If you like this kind of thing (as we do) then you will not be disappointed. There is imagination, freshness and, dare we say it, attitude on display and that combination gives this release its appeal. It is noisy enough to annoy the neighbours but has more than enough in the lyrics to keep your mind engaged and entertained. Nice one. You can get your copy from CD Baby.