Crowded House – Don’t Stop Now (Parlophone), The Electric Soft Parade – Misunderstanding (Truck Records)
I’m reviewing these two together, not only because that’s how they were sent out to me by The Lick, but because I couldn’t help noticing how surprisingly similar they are. Crowded House’s “Don’t Stop Now” is exactly the kind of quality, breezy pop you know you’re going to get. It’s never going to set my musical world alight, but there’s nothing I can dislike about it either; it’s the kind of well-crafted stuff you wouldn’t mind hearing on the car radio on a sunny day. Maybe it’s my age.
More surprising is the fact that The Electric Soft Parade’s “Misunderstanding” could almost be another Crowded House song, only the slightly harder guitars separating the two. Much more impressive is the second song here, “Blue It Is”. On first listen to this haunting song, I wasn’t paying attention and found myself thinking, “Now why would a band who can write such stylish melancholy as this hide it away as track 2? It’s almost as good as “Breakfast” by The Associates.” Then I bothered to look at the sleeve and, of course, it is indeed a cover of a Billy MacKenzie song. Now that’s the sort of music that is going to set my musical world alight.
Lorraine Douglas
More surprising is the fact that The Electric Soft Parade’s “Misunderstanding” could almost be another Crowded House song, only the slightly harder guitars separating the two. Much more impressive is the second song here, “Blue It Is”. On first listen to this haunting song, I wasn’t paying attention and found myself thinking, “Now why would a band who can write such stylish melancholy as this hide it away as track 2? It’s almost as good as “Breakfast” by The Associates.” Then I bothered to look at the sleeve and, of course, it is indeed a cover of a Billy MacKenzie song. Now that’s the sort of music that is going to set my musical world alight.
Lorraine Douglas
