It’s not often that we are exposed to a song that can cause a pause in a busy day to sit back and marvel in the tranquility that eludes from its core. While there is a sense of mystique that surrounds Still Parade, who have yet to develop an online presence, after one listen of their debut song “Actors” it becomes clear that their intention is to create an identity through their music. Throughout “Actors” they allow the subtle acoustic presence of lightly plucked guitars and harmonious vocals paint a picture of who they are, and where they are going.
As a preview of a debut album that is nearly three years in the making, “Actors” draws major influence from folk, with underlying transitional guitar tones and drawn out vocals supporting a bleak, yet somewhat optimistic message rooted within the lyrical content. Still Parade also introduce a new dimension to traditional folk by adding the support of evolving electronic textures to provide progression. Overall “Actors” gives off a feeling a journey, where even though the original motivation that inspired the trip was left unexplored, a realization from yearning to return to the comfort of home evolved to become the trips focal point.
Because of the subtle, yet palpable feeling that protrudes when listening to “Actors”, accurately depicting the raw emotion is a difficult task. However, Still Parade accomplish the feat through Simon Bitterli‘s fading images of a color-infused liquid that changes shape as it sinks through what appears to be water.
If “Actors” is an indicator of what to expect on Still Parade’s debut full length we should be in for something special.