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.
