Morning Parade Puts Out Pure Joy

When Steve Sparrow (lead vocals, piano, guitar) and Phil Titus (bass) met at the Burnt Mill Academy in Harlow, they quickly became friends and later coworkers. But even so, the lineup of what would eventually become Morning Parade was some ways off.

It wasn't until 2003 that they met Chad Thomas (guitar) at Harlow College to form a short-lived 5-piece band called Anotherstory that broke up in 2007. For many musicians that might have been it, but Sparrow kept on producing acoustics and playing around Harlow until meeting Andy Hayes (drums) and Ben Giddings (piano/synths) to round out a new 5-piece called Morning Parade.

Despite the right lineup and growing playlist, Morning Parade seemed destined to take the long road. They rebuffed early offers by record labels until Parlophone signed them in 2010. Within a few months, they were touring with The Wombats and Smashing Pumpkins. And now?

Pure Adulterated Joy is a smashing sophomore album.

Although Morning Parade is only slowly lining up venues as part of its whirlwind U.S. tour for Pure Adulterated Joy, expect this to change as the album earns more play time. The first track from the 10-pack album has already earned high marks and an iTunes track of the week on its initial release.

The track, Alienation, is is a lyrical thunderstorm that aims at redefining life with a less hectic schedule. The value of it isn't being busy, but experiencing every little thing that adds to it.



If you have a chance, give the acoustic version a listen too. It's not on the album but the video version is easy enough to find. They released an off-album video version of Reality Dream too. On both occasions, the alternative arrangement allows the melody and lyrics to strip away the alternative rock presentation and reveal folk compositions that have become Sparrow's calling card for years.

Reality Dream is about being happy with who you are and what you have instead attempting to capture manmade measures of success. It works equally well as a synth-driven rocker or folk hero.

Culture Vulture makes a similar connection to the band's recasting life theme, this time without medication, exploration, or excessive consumption that only adds to society's ever-mounting anxiety. In some ways, it feels very much like nineties grunge but with a much more buoyant presentation.

It's an interesting twist given that many critics dismissed their debut as "too marketable." Here the band seems to be taking aim at the mass media formula (while never giving up their own ambitions to some day play stadiums). It's clear they've hit a sweet spot between relevant and radio friendly.

Other standout tracks include the straightforward opener Shake The Cage, the band showcase Car Alarms & Sleepless Nights, and underrated atmospheric anti-ballad Seasick. Meanwhile, Autoinjector and Love Thy Neighbour give up more of the band's rock and roll underbelly while adding some much needed diversity to their music.

Pure Adulterated Joy By Morning Parade Bangs Away 7.2 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale. 

All told, Pure Adulterated Joy provides the right one-two for a band that has been around longer than its two albums suggest. They know what they are doing and have obviously stumbled on the right way to compose thoughtful songs with a big stadium-sized sound. Turn it up one or two.

Pure Adulterated Joy by Morning Parade can be found on Amazon or downloaded from iTunes. You can also order Pure Adulterated Joy from Barnes & Noble. For tour information, check Facebook. The album was produced by Ben Allen (Animal Collective).

Dinosaur Pile-Up Tests Nature Nurture

Leeds-based alternative rockers Dinosaur Pile-Up has seen its share of change ups since 2007 with founder Matt Bigland (vocals, guitar) and Mike Shields (drums) settled in as the band's core members. Jim Cratchley (bass) joined last year, adding to what some already see as a move toward mainstream.

Nature Nurture does have some mainstream qualities to it. The album thrives on big power pop-rock chords and huge riffs reminiscent of maturing Weezer-esque music. They are trying to make epic one-off rock music and succeed at it with plenty of precision and polish.

It is enough to make you wonder, at times, if the band is growing up too fast for its own good, giving up some of the material in between their edgier introduction and their much more purposeful stride today. It feels that way listening to Derail, but thankfully not the entire album. 

Nature Nurture marks a band looking to step over, with mixed results.

Opening with Arizona Waiting, Dinosaur Pile-Up puts its best foot forward with an anthemic rocker that could easily recast itself as classic rock. The track gives up some lyrical prowess in favor of feeling catchy but it works nonetheless. 

The band follows up with Derail, which is indicative of the pop songs Bigland has said all along that he wanted to write. It still has enough power to wake you up but doesn't necessarily kick you in the face like some of the band's early and more intense rockers. 

A much better rendition of the sound Dinosaur Pile-Up ought to be chasing around is Peninsula. Sure, there is something familiar about its "we party and play hard" message. But it also retains some of the band's alternative punk-infused lyrics, with Bigland chanting to "be what you want, say what you feel, do what you please, take what you got, do it forever."

The song might rub against that power pop notion, but it does so while preserving a rock edge. It's a great song, likely the best one on the 13-track album. It even helps carry Heather, a mostly straightforward cheat-and-break-up song that sounds good even if you don't care so much about it. 

The promise of an upstart relationship in Summer Girl is much more inspired. It carries a sun-drenched classic rock sound that will take some people back a few decades while still sounding fresh, perfect for any all-day beach playlist. Put White T-Shirt And Jeans on the list too. Even without having the same depth, the song perfectly rolls out some reminiscent relationship casualty. 

After White T-Shirt, Dinosaur Pile-Up drifts back and forth between rockers and power pop, with the rockers keeping the upper hand. The upbeat and energetic Draw A Line, low-noted drone of Nature Nurture, and the mellow chug of Should all measure up. Bruise Violet has its moments too. 

But those that rely too much on pop sensibilities like The Way We Came, Lip Hook Kiss, and Start Again have a much harder time holding anyone's attention. Other than a couple of cool lyrical lines tucked inside these tracks, the compositions begin to feel less familiar and more predictable. (The instrumental inside Lip Hook Kiss aside.) 

In sum, it leaves listeners with a lot to wonder about. Dinosaur Pile-Up could have been taken in plenty of different directions after Growing Pains. Nature Nurture sometimes convinces you that the band chose the right one and sometimes not. At the lowest points, I found myself thumbing back to older tracks like Mona Lisa, Hey Man, and My Rock 'n' Roll. I missed them.

Nature Nurture By Dinosaur Pile-Up Plows 5.6 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale. 

As a band in transition, everyone wants to know where Dinosaur Pile-Up will end up. It's nearly impossible to say after listing to Nature Nurture. For every track that rocks, there is another that drags it down. The album isn't deficient per se, but sometimes it slides into the background. 

You can find Nature Nurture by Dinosaur Pile-Up on Amazon. Nature Nurture is also available on Barnes & Noble and can be downloaded from iTunes. The band is currently making its way around the United States. Keep track of their show dates via Facebook.