Sounds like…

A swirling whirlpool of guitars and drums in beautiful slow motion.

Review

Manchester’s Purple Heart Parade continue to ensure that the iconic British city is at the forefront of weird and wonderful rock with their new EP ‘Desolation Angel’.

The beauty of what Purple Heart Parade do is in the cumulative approach they take to rock. Opening track ‘Petrichor’ starts out with its psych-rock guitars and mid-tempo drums. Soon the dreamy yet obviously Mancunian vocals glide in and the track becomes more intense. That intensity ramps up until by the end of the track its a raging fire of guitars and noise.

Its an approach the band takes across the EP but in different guises, cranking the intensity as they go. ‘Sister Libra’ is more jaunty with heavier hooks and lighter choruses but the euphoria of its ending is a rock masterclass. Similarly ‘Red Rose Country’ starts off (dare I say) folksy before transforming into a phasing psych-rock second half. Purple Heart Parade do like throwing in a country twang but only to them smash it into smithereens later on.

‘Starwheel’ is the most straightforward rock track with grungy grizzle in the guitars that give it grit and edge. That leaves the title track to close EP out. ‘Desolation Angel’ sees Purple Heart Parade embrace their full trippy vibe with a kaleidoscope of synths for their ‘ballad’ piece. It could have walked right out of the early 1970s.

It doesn’t surprise me that the band have shared a stage with Temples because they are two halves of the same coin. Purple Heart Parade wash you away with dreamy, fuzzy guitars and drums and vocals that glide rather than grind. It is a potent force and one that should garner new fans all over.

Recommended track: Petrichor

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