The Electric Soft Parade – No Need To Be Downhearted Review | Best Indie Music Reviews, Interviews, and Everything Independent at Radio Exile

The Electric Soft Parade – No Need To Be Downhearted Review

By Dan Berkman April 30, 2007 Post a comment | Email the author

The Electric Soft Parade: Official Site, MySpace

The Brothers White are back. Much lauded British band, The Electric Soft Parade, are issuing their first full length since the disappointment that was their sophomore album, American Adventure, four years ago. The disappointment lay that the band’s interesting mix of pop hooks (a la Oasis and Weezer) and subtle introspection (Badly Drawn Boy and Elliott Smith), had been dominated by their experimental Pink Floyd side. That’s not to say that such experiments haven’t worked in their favor, in fact that was what made their debut, Holes In The Wall, such a breath of fresh air. After American Adventure, Alex and Tom White took a break to found much loved indie pop newcomers The Brakes, which includes ex-British Sea Power keyboardist, Eamon Hamilton. Despite their new band’s success, Alex and Tom simply had to reform their band to finally make good on all of their potential seen/heard on their debut album.

Although they are well known in their own country, the band’s new album, No Need To Be Downhearted is the first time American audiences can hear them, unless one bought import releases of their last two albums. This is all for the best because a record as good as No Need To Be Downhearted shouldn’t be judged by anything other than it’s own merits. It begins with a title track that starts off as a simple piano ballad which could have you shrugging your shoulders and thinking to yourself, “oh so they are another Coldplay band,” but just when you get comfortable with that fact those big Pet Sounds-esque drums and keyboards hit and you find yourself in an entirely new vibe and mood. This seems to be a trend on the record, they start with simple pop ideas and expand on them, taking them to wild and new places you never thought they could go. For example, the song, “Misunderstanding” starts off as a sunny bit of pop, which has more than a passing resemblance to Weezer’s “Island In The Sun,” before the song turns on its ear. Early on, you can’t imagine the picture perfect Beach Boy harmonies and rocking guitar solo that are hidden within. The same can be said for “Cold World,” which starts off as a McCartney style piano pop song before seamlessly changing into a jangly indie rock tune complete with swirling guitars. That is what I love so much about this band, they take a simple pop song or concept and deliver it to wonderful places.

The record covers all of the musical bases very well. You can lower your windows to the killer, and not to mention funky, “If That’s The Case, Then I Don’t Know,” and then raise them up for the weepers like the dreamy “Shore Song/Surfacing”. “No Need To Be Downhearted” is a perfect blend of pop and experimentation. The songs will have you returning to the record for different reasons each time. If you want to rock out, than you got it. If you want to lay down on your bed with your headphones and explore a whole new world, No Need To Be Downhearted has you covered in that regard as well. The Electric Soft Parade are a part of a new crop of bands like Grizzly Bear that are defending the right of the pop song, very much like Brian Wilson once did. A great pop song is fun to put on and sing along to, but if there is some real beauty, thought, and skill put behind it, then we are all better off. Alex and Tom White prove that pop music is not just something that strikes your ear in a positive way, it can also grab your soul.

The Electric Soft Parade’s No Need To Be Downhearted manages to be one of the catchiest records this year. It is one of the deepest comeback albums: it is more like a coming-out album of one of England’s greatest bands. For Broken Dial, a 5 out of 5 means that a record is “hands down, must own” quality. Don’t just sit there, go out and get it.