“thrown into the energy and the emotion” Perren Street Parade – Empty
Perren Street Parade are Colin Read & Peter West.
Perren Street Parade started life in London in 1986/1987 after an advert was placed in Melody Maker. Eight months of songwriting & rehearsing produced a 6 song demo produced by Tony Cohen, known for his work with The Birthday Party The band had interest from Creation Records
[Alan McGee’s band Biff Bang Pow! used the same North London rehearsal studio]
It all came to nothing and the band split no gigs, no releases. Move on two and half decades and the band have all gone their separate ways:
Claus Castenskiolds a successful painter and artist see Fall, Gun Club etc. Phil Shoenfelt a successful solo artist and author. Colin & Peter continued for a while under the name Like.
They got back together in 2014 to record the Perren Street Parade’s long over due debut album, “Selling The Family Silver” which was released to positive reviews. The follow up album “The Looking Glass” was released in the Autumn of 2015. One reviewer stated that the album needed to be absorbed by musical osmosis, we couldn’t have put it better ourselves. This year has been a pause & a chance to start work on the next album. The songs that have been worked on are sounding great, some with the piano as the starting point for writing. 2017 will see the release of the next album, which will add another slice of dream pop for those that dare to dream…..
Perren Street Parade – Empty
Empty is a beautiful song. It’s an interesting one from the offset, there’s no lingering in the quiet parts of the music for a gentle introduction – you’re thrown into the energy and the emotion of the music the very moment you press play. The song sounds great, a simple set of elements, in theory – what is essentially an acoustic guitar song with a light and organic beat. The gathering of voices throughout adds a lot to the overall size of the sound.
The voices give the impression of something much bigger, the dreamlike reverb washing over the sound adds an element of distance – so it all has a lot more of a message to it, it seems like something important. This works well, and such structure is not often heard in modern music – so often tracks are built in a way that leads up to these harmonious, choir-like moments; the intention being to build a contrast with what’s to come, thus maximising the impact of that moment. It’s actually incredibly refreshing to see these rules thrown aside, and it’s inspiring to see how effective music can be when artists trust their own creative energy and drive and put together music and art that is exactly what they wanted to express or portray.
The hook melody is perhaps a little too familiar, but that’s a personal observation and the track itself is undeniably enjoyable and fresh. It’s a calming and comforting piece of music, with a highly uplifting and energising vibe to it. You could listen time and time again and not get bored of it. You could hear it come on in the distance, or in the middle of a hard day, and have your spirits lifted almost immediately. It’s a wonderful example of the simple power of music when crafted effectively. Nothing is overdone, everything is just where it needs to be.
By Rebecca Cullen
Rebecca is a Musician and writer from Manchester, UK, with an MA in Song Writing
