""the powder it falls, loose lips and diaphanous slips / Connie spills all by the end of the night..."
"Bag Of Blood", those three words in that particular order conjures a myriad of things in my mind from metaphorical to grotesque. The second single from L.A. based Strange Parade's upcoming full length "The Watchers" feels like post punk noir and it is not only the curious title (that seems befitting of a 50's pulp fiction novel) but the evocative sounds from bottom to top. The opening darkly jazz dipped piano draws you in and when the double time drum beat (like an interlude) carries you to the heavy piano and airy guitar shapes and eventually Brian Cleary's engaging voice you are sucked fully into the void. In this sonic place that has open spaces to fall into and pushed urgency to wrap around you (with an incredibly hooky synth line that feels almost theremin) you are hooked and will gladly swallow anything Cleary's feeds you. It is just so immersive, so grand in it's raw story telling. AND it is so fucking free of the current indie tropes that cheapen this kind of sonic storytelling.
[Strange Parade was formed by Cleary (former keyboardist and occasional co-writer for The Movies (Gern Blandsten/Houston Party) and Radar Brothers (Merge). Their debut album “Between Us All” dropped in 2019 fused together with members of his previous bands as well as Eels, Trans Am, DNTEL, Morsel (and more).]
[Now a real band, the lineup features long-time/former Brian Jonestown Massacre drummer Dan Allaire, lap-steel/guitar wiz, Paul Lacques (I See Hawks in LA, Double Naught Spycar) and bassist Ashley Berry.]
The "Watchers" album is set to drop May 6, 2022 and I look forward to it.
-Robb Donker Curtius
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM - PRESS NOTES:
https://www.facebook.com/strangeparade
https://strangeparadeofficial.com/
https://www.instagram.com/strange_parade/
https://soundcloud.com/strangeparade/sets/lp1
https://open.spotify.com/track/5rNIDYfCmgQ0z8L3ZG5VaF
https://strangeparade1.bandcamp.com/
Strange Parade was formed by keyboardist, singer/songwriter Brian Cleary, former keyboardist and occasional co-writer for The Movies (Gern Blandsten/Houston Party) and Radar Brothers (Merge). Cleary started teaching himself piano at the age of 5 and started playing in a punk/new wave/surf band (a Florida band, Locals Only) on his 14th birthday.
Flash forward to 1999. After college and living back in Boston, Cleary co-formed The Movies, who quickly moved to LA, Cleary following years later, released 3 albums and won LA Weekly’s “Best Rock/Pop Band” in 2005. After they split, Cleary joined Radar Brothers, co-writing songs on “Eight” (Merge) while diving deeper into his own songwriting.
Strange Parade’s debut, “Between Us All,” features members of his previous bands as well as Eels, Trans Am, DNTEL, Morsel and more. The songs pass through a myriad of sub-genres – all woven together by Cleary’s emotional delivery and direct-yet-bizarre lyricisms. “Between Us All” will be released Oct 4, 2019.
Now a real band, the lineup features long-time/former Brian Jonestown Massacre drummer Dan Allaire, lap-steel/guitar wiz, Paul Lacques (I See Hawks in LA, Double Naught Spycar) and bassist Ashley Berry. The sound has evolved to a distinctive, swirling-but-driving psychedelic twang, all riding smoothly over Cleary's Eno -esque atmospherics. The band are currently playing around LA and recording their second LP at their studio in Highland Park.
* * *
We get by with a little help from our friends
Strange Parade, Los Angeles, singer-songwriter, story teller, post punk, indie rock, gothic rock, alt rock, "Bag of Blood", new album "Watchers", evocative, hooky, catchy, absorbing,
Strange Parade was formed by keyboardist, singer/songwriter Brian Cleary, former keyboardist and occasional co-writer for The Movies (Gern Blandsten/Houston Party) and Radar Brothers (Merge). Cleary started teaching himself piano at the age of 5 and started playing in a punk/new wave/surf band (a Florida band, Locals Only) on his 14th birthday.
Flash forward to 1999. After college and living back in Boston, Cleary co-formed The Movies, who quickly moved to LA, Cleary following years later, released 3 albums and won LA Weekly’s “Best Rock/Pop Band” in 2005. After they split, Cleary joined Radar Brothers, co-writing songs on “Eight” (Merge) while diving deeper into his own songwriting.
Strange Parade’s debut, “Between Us All,” features members of his previous bands as well as Eels, Trans Am, DNTEL, Morsel and more. The songs pass through a myriad of sub-genres – all woven together by Cleary’s emotional delivery and direct-yet-bizarre lyricisms. “Between Us All” will be released Oct 4, 2019.
Now a real band, the lineup features long-time/former Brian Jonestown Massacre drummer Dan Allaire, lap-steel/guitar wiz, Paul Lacques (I See Hawks in LA, Double Naught Spycar) and bassist Ashley Berry. The sound has evolved to a distinctive, swirling-but-driving psychedelic twang, all riding smoothly over Cleary's Eno -esque atmospherics. The band are currently playing around LA and recording their second LP at their studio in Highland Park.
* * *
We get by with a little help from our friends
Strange Parade, Los Angeles, singer-songwriter, story teller, post punk, indie rock, gothic rock, alt rock, "Bag of Blood", new album "Watchers", evocative, hooky, catchy, absorbing,
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