Doug Gillard - Parade On

2014 – Nine Mile Records

By Phillip Smith; Aug. 1, 2014

Parade On, the third solo release from Doug Gillard is a refreshing double-dose of indie-rock.  Gillard is a renaissance man when it comes to music.  Singer/Songwriter aside, he takes on responsibility for performing every instrument on this album (guitar, bass, keys, percussion) with the exception of drums. 

Gillard breaks the seal on the track list with “Ready For Death”.  Here, he cleverly marries sullen lyrics sung from the agonized perspective of one just ready to let go, with a lovely upbeat melody which could easily be mistaken for a long-lost track from Electric Light Orchestra.  Then, as if the dial had been turned from the Seventies channel to the Eighties channel, “Angel X”, with its slightly fast tempo, takes me back to the days when the band Squeeze ruled my stereo. 

I can get lost in the melodically beautiful “Your Eyes”.  Sugary and poppy, it instantly puts me in a good mood.  Other favorites include “Come Out and Show Me”, a throwback to the early Who, and “I Shall Not Want”, which seems to draw more influence from George Harrison.

Gillard masterfully ties these eleven pop-infused songs up in one neat little package, to make Parade On, a damn cool aural treat.