I like to think I keep my ear pretty close to the ground, so I'd heard all about The Eldora Parade before the recent Punktastic Tour hit Bournemouth. Infact, if you rewind the story further back, I was even aware of some of these guys in their former guise as Minus Elizabeth - albeit a band that took as many cliches as they could and ran towards the nearest stereotype. As generic as ME were, they were still a talented bunch and this really shines through in their new band. As the PT tour finished, a couple of bands impressed us, with one of those these south-eastern boys. With their sound steeped in nu-wave and 80s synth, you could say that this genre of music is becoming the new post-hardcore, but again the band's obvious talent helps them to shine through.
This three-track demo shows plenty of promise. Songs like 'Juliette' are catchy and well structured; the level of musicianship is high and the production is very good for a demo. They're not the finished article by any means - for me the band would be suited to changing the pace of the songs within each track, for example - but they show the signs of maturity for youngsters that bode well for the future. They remind me of the level The Maple State were at when I first heard them about 10 months ago, so if The Eldora Parade can make the same progress they will relly go on and do something good. However (and you just knew there was going to be a 'but'), the vocals let this down by at least half-a-star. Whilst it's admirable to try and be a British band and sing in a British accent, Justin's voice ends up sounding forced and unnatural. A friend (who shall remain nameless) suggested the vocals sound like Dick Van Dyke - and while it's a harsh assessment, it's ultimately true. If The Eldora Parade were from the East End, or were real-life Cockneys, then you could understand the really thick Londoner sound they band seem to have tacked on for novelty value.
But they're from Bournemouth and the end result comes across as leaving a bitter taste in the mouth. For a band that show so much promise, the vocals leave a bit to be desired. It's not that Justin can't hit the notes because he can - and then some - but the mockney style he seems to have adopted since his Minus Elizabeth days just isn't convincing. The idea of a demo is to start to develop a sound, get some feedback and hopefully learn from mistakes. Musically, The Eldora Parade will hopefully mature and keep on getting better - but if they want to take it to the next level the vocals need to be smoothed out. Sing naturally, sing in a British accent - but make sure it doesn't sound false. People complain when bands sing in a faux-US accent but trust me, it sounds far worse when it's a faux-British accent...
www.myspace.com/theeldoraparade
Paul
