Electric Soft Parade

Appropriate Ending single

Here’s an interview and some single reviews…

The Argus UK Tour interview with Tom, click to read in full.

“At the moment the possibilities when you get on a stage to make music are amazing. We said we wanted to make it as unlike any other band playing each week as possible”

That was the idea behind The Electric Soft Parade’s new show, which is unlike anything they have done before. They helped put Brighton’s music scene on the map. They have been a mainstay of the city scene, surfacing in other Brighton bands including Brakes and Restlesslist, who Tom regularly drums for.

But for this tour they decided on a new approach. It features the new album played completely in sequence, against a backdrop of projections put together by Tom.

“I made the projections by taking some old footage and edited it on my laptop to work alongside the album. We replaced the audio with a click track so our drummer Damo Waters is in sync with the screen. The effect is that the band is magically in sync with the visuals” – watch Appropriate Ending

For the final part of the gig they asked fans for favourite tracks from their back catalogue, resulting in an overwhelming demand for early B-side Broadcast – see what people suggested at Myspace and the Forum

The band chose the UK Tour supports: bedroom maestro Paul Steel and Dear Britch, featuring singer Stuart Flynn, who joined them onstage for part of the show (he also supports in Germany)

“I want to feel like we are pushing our audience… Some people into us are into radio-friendly stuff like Keane and Coldplay. We feel it’s our responsibility to introduce people to other stuff”

Organ Magazine Sophisticated pastoral indie-pop and an uplifting lead track from this year’s rather acclaimed No Need To Be Downhearted album. Electric Soft Parade on back on top form. The interest here will focus on the Elliott Smith and Amy Linton covers to be found as b-sides.

Visual Music Webzine (French) Happiness is simple as a b-side… Appropriate Ending is out on 26 November and brings a little happiness in our hearts in these early winter temperatures, listen to the b-sides at Myspace

Rant Magazine Click to read the full review… One new song and two covers, their title track is probably their best on the EP. It sounds reminiscent of when guitar-pop was good. When it felt a wash of enjoyment to listen to.

Their cover of Elliott Smith’s (R.I.P) Happiness was a damn good job. It felt like listening to an Elliott Smith song, not just in chords and the words, but the mood of Elliott Smith was there, but there was something else as well that made you enjoy it on a different level. It wasn’t karaoke, it was the Electric Soft Parade performing an Elliott Smith song, where seemingly both artists were present. Their cover of Amy Linton’s Friends of the Heroes was almost dream-pop in it’s calming tempo and distant guitars.

There’s an air with their music that is very rarely present in modern guitar-pop. Modern guitar-pop is very immediate and punchy and there’s nothing behind the notes you’re hearing, and this record doesn’t fall in to that.

Latest interviews

English: Kruger Magazine – Tenement Blog
French: Sensation Rock – Magic Magazine
German: Spex.de – Motor.de

For rough translations of the non English interviews see the forum.

Read all about ESP at Truck Festival in the news archive.