Generally found at the post-rock end of the music spectrum,
Mice Parade combine traditional instrumentation and
electronic devices into beautifully simple and evocative
compositions. Mice Parade first emerged at the tail
end of the nineties when Adam Pierce released a series
of EPs and albums on his own label, Bubble Core in the
US and Fat Cat in Europe, establishing himself without
fuss alongside bands such as Fridge.
A founding member of The Dylan Group, New York-based
Pierce created Mice Parade (an anagram of his name)
as a solo project. Despite his music often being mistaken
for electronica, Pierce actually builds his tracks almost
entirely around acoustic instrumentation, with the regular
addition of electric guitars, and he plays most of the
instruments on his records, even going to the length
of recording his second opus, Ramda in live
conditions.
For Obrigado Saudade, Pierce joins forces with
a wide range of musicians including H.I.M.’s
Doug Scharin, Múm
vocalist Kristin Anna Valtýsdottir, and Dylan
Group co-member Dylan Cristy. Yet, Pierce remains very
much in control of his ship, and still takes care of
the production and most of the playing. Developing from
his previous releases, he shows here a more opened approach
to melodies, often sprinkling pop sparkles over his
compositions, as on the beautiful opening track, Two,
Three, Fall. The presence of Kristin Anna Valtýsdottir
and the delightful swirls of acoustic guitars can’t
help but evoke Múm,
but it is not after all such a bad thing. The epic Mystery
Brethen is even more appealing. Spread over eleven
minutes, the melody appears to continuously evolve and
change, yet remain entirely static at the same time,
creating the impression of traveling without moving.
Seven minutes down the line, the track suddenly breaks
up entirely to let a secondary melody take over, before
the whole machinery is put in motion again. Despite
a few vocal samples occasionally crossing the spectrum,
Mystery Brethen gains in focus by remaining
entirely instrumental. When Pierce turns the electricity
on and injects some testosterone in his songs, furtive
echoes of My Bloody Valentine can be heard on Wave
Greeting or Milton Road. Yet, it is on
the more subdued, if no less elaborate, songs that the
Mice Parade orchestra shows the most unity and vision.
The melancholic Here Today, once again with
Valtýsdottir on lead vocals, or Focus On
A Roller Coaster, with their taste of November
day, are amongst the highlights here, with the short
and sweet (just one minute twenty) Spain, and
the stunning Guitars For Plants and Refrain
Tomorrow bringing this album to a sumptuous end.
For this fifth album, Adam Pierce appears to bring his
music to a more accessible level, yet he retains the
essence of what made his earlier work so interesting.
As he confronts his music with the influences of his
collaborators, Pierce produces here his most accomplished
piece of work to date.
4.1/5 |
