CHURCH pews, multi-coloured chandeliers and burgundy walls welcome electro-rock five piece Morning Parade to Manchester at the quirky ballroom-esque Night and Day Cafe.
Vintage-looking picture frames and beams don’t initially strike you as the perfect backdrop for a fresh dance influenced band but blue fairy lights and spotlights attempt to make the group feel more at home.
Having recently signed to Parlophone, joining the likes of Kylie Minogue and Coldplay, and getting airplay on Radio 1, XFM and BBC 6 Music, expectations of the Essex natives are high despite an anything but capacity crowd of around 80 punters.
Prior to the gig only ‘Under The Stars’ has been released as a single from their as yet untitled upcoming album, with ‘A&E’ set to hit the shops on February 28th.
As the nervous-looking fivesome stroll onto the slim line Night and Day stage, the waistcoat-clad lead guitarist, shirted bassist and singer set for action with his sleeves rolled up form a frontline of strings, as that familiar distant soft electronic start brings the mixed crowd alive.
Those there just to see what all the fuss is about are even nodding their heads in approval as the beat rises higher before jumping into the echoed yearning bass guitar rhythm at the centre of ‘Under The Stars’.
All of this is added to by a Foals ‘Spanish Sahara’-style bleeping accompaniment and lead singer Steve Sparrow’s polished vocals before a rocky interlude and final bit of chorus that couldn’t have opened their set in a bigger way.
After that tight opening song the stage then beckons for a sound man who’s out to solve the technical issues that Sparrow is already apologising about before the gleaming guitars and pulsing drumbeat of ‘Marble Attic’ urge the singer to stand in front of his mic in the heavier sections.
More problems coerce Sparrow into saying: “Ever feel like life’s f**king you in the arse?”, before a later admission that the band have never had a good gig in Manchester marks a strange rapport with the crowd who look bemused as the band sound tight.
For a group that has major label backing and have supported the likes of Feeder and Florence and the Machine, Morning Parade are a clean cut almost imageless set of mates that seem keen just to get on with the music.
Besides all this however, the band continue to power through with their set that rings of everything from My Chemical Romance’s catchy emo-rock and Angels and Airwaves’ big sounding symphonic indie.
Described as a band that are stadium rockers in the making by their supporters, a lot of their expansive tracks warrant that reputation and are in truth more suited to Wembley than a Mancunian cafe.
‘Speechless’ is a classic example of this with its heavy drum backing, soaring guitars and pretty piano that accompany Sparrow’s wide-eyed vocal that is more than up to the task as he brings the tempo down gently, singing: “I’m just speechless”.
And it’s not long before their second single, ‘A&E’, kicks into action with its vibrant bouncing guitar and familiarly atmospheric electronic background yearnings and a vocalist who at his best sounds like Billy Corgan from The Smashing Pumpkins.
But if anything this continuous use of keyboards, electronic organ chords and bleeps and beeps does make defining tracks individually harder and blends the set more than you might like as it goes on.
One black sheep in the set that signifies the stranger grating tendencies on the part of the group then follows in the form of ‘Your Majesty’.
Shadowed by an odd-sounding organ based dancy backing which sounds like something from an 80’s horror film or Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace is added to by an uncharacteristic ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine’ guitar riff during the chorus that on the whole is hard on the ears.
‘Carousel’ then swiftly follows in emphasising Morning Parade-based frustration with dubbed in electronic claps and yet more random additions of feedback and electro sound effects over what is essentially a good guitar-centred track.
Before signing off with the slightly less electronic ‘Born Alone’ the self deprecating Sparrow says: “We’ll make sure we’ll be better for you next time,” which if anything ends the night on a low after what was for the most part a good gig.
And on the whole it’s not difficult to see why Morning Parade are being tipped for the top as they clearly have some fantastic mixed influences and ingredients, none more so than Sparrow’s standout live vocal.
But at points the overuse of echoed electronics make what could be great tracks become too layered and unnecessarily complex when Sparrow and those gleaming guitars are calling out to be centre stage.
Also published on www.virgin.com
http://www.virgin.com/music/reviews/morning-parade-at-night-day/
No comments:
Post a Comment