Morning Parade

This album, Morning Parade’s second, didn’t impress very much the first time. It all sounded too familiar, bombastic, over blown and cold. Morning Parade weren’t far off a trashing but after a few more spins, while the bombast and chrome doesn’t quite fall away subtle hues begin to emerge.

Take opener Shake the Cage; at first it’s all drums, vocals and soaring sky scrapping guitars. Further in the clever injection of synths ups the interest. Alienation is the sore thumb being almost pure pop, and the band sounding very comfortable, and no surprise that it’s been a hit in the USA.

Then there’s Love Thy Neighbour with its driving late 70’s new wave rhythms. This is followed by the beguiling Car Alarms and Sleepless Nights which starts of as after midnight chillout, only for the band to go of on a vaguely rocky, proggy vein.

The title track which is a short, sharp wall of noise, which sounds a bit of a mess but no doubt will go down a storm live. Culture Vulture closes with Steve Sparrow’s loud vocals to the fore (as they for most of the album).
Pure Adulterated Joy is a solid album of wannabe arena rock; the production and performances are in sync if a little detached. And if the songs batter you about the head at times there are splashes of imagination that soften the blows, a bit.