Artist : Mice ParadeAlbum : Mice Parade (7th Domestic LP)
Release : 05.08.07
Year Founded : 1998
Label Name : Fatcat Records
Catalog # : 63
Packaging Type : Single-Disc Jewel Case
Members : Dylan Cristy, Jay Israelson, Brendan Knights, Josh Larue, Dan Lippel, Adam Pierce, Doug Scharin, Kristin Anna Valtysdottir
Runtime : 35:28Area Tour Dates : None at time of publication
Sound Season : Spring, Autumn
iTunes Worthy Tracks : Sneaky Red, Tales of Las Negras, The Last Ten Homes, Satchelaise, The Nights After Fiction
Sounds Like : F.S. Blumm Sweite Meer
Rating : A-
Mice Parade's newest album is nothing new. But that's okay, because they do everything right.
Adam Pierce, the main mastermind of the group (he has a history in several groups including the Swirlies, Him and Múm; while Scharin has been in Him and June of 44; and Cristy spearheaded The Dylan Group), seems to realize that this is the case. Why else would he have decided to make this, his 7th release, the self-titled album? It's because there is something defining about a self-titled album. It is the litmus test by which by which future albums will be compared. He knows that he and his ensemble have now finally found their place in themselves, and have carved out a cozy niche that no one else can so masterfully occupy.
I would argue that this moment came two albums ago with Obrigado Saudade. In fact, the last three albums (the middle one being Bem-Vinda Vontade) play to me like a trilogy. There is growth and differences across the albums, but that is what should happen, and there is a strong common thread that clearly unites them.
Their formula (and I say that only in the most positive way) has been layers of strum-heavy vinyl-string acoustic guitar, interjections of fuzzy electric guitar, calm but affected vocals, and rhythmic-to-the-extreme drumming, all enveloped by rich, sun-drenched arrangements. With vibes and zither and other exotic instruments, this is as close to world music as post-rock could get. The lyrics, typically, are heart-felt and personal without giving too much away. Their imagery and language evoke enough sentiment to make you care, but not so much that it becomes a sappy confessional (a practice which has become a plague in popular music).
The second track, "Tales of Las Negras" (possibly the album's most worthy single), features drumming to make DJ Shadow envious and special guest vocals by Stereolab's Laetitia Sadier (incorrectly credited to track 3 in the liner notes). I have to say that I prefer her vocals over Kristin Anna Valtysdottir's (also from Múm). I am more comfortable with them. Valtysdottir, appearing prominently on this release only on "Double Dolphins on the Nickel," sounds like a whispering 6-year-old and though in most instances it doesn't detract from the feeling of the song, it also doesn't add anything that couldn't be gotten from someone else slightly more forceful.
Given the strength of the perfomances, I can hardly fault Pierce for making his self-titled album so short. Surely it wasn't for lack of material. But the caliber of Mice Parade releases being what they are, I won't mind waiting patiently for the next one to appear.
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