ELECTRIC SOFT PARADE - KINGS CROSS WATER RATS, 12/10/06

The small Water Rats theatre in London?s Kings Cross is quite simply packed. Maybe not totally sold out - but still very much on the busy side. Why? Because it?s a rare London gig from Brighton?s re-energised rockers Electric Soft Parade, that?s why. And yes, they?ve only gone and bagged two quite stunning support acts as well.

First of who also hail from Brighton - the hotly tipped 4 piece Actress Hands, who in the absence of their usual drummer, feature Soft Parader Alex White on stick duties for the night. ?Boys Need Jazz? is a slow builder, featuring a climatic guitar freak out ending, ?The Reducer? comes across like a meaner Teenage Fanclub with intent, whilst new single ?Half An Hour? is one fast paced, guitar driven bastard of a rocker - in a similar vein as The Wedding Present. Effortlessly catchy chord progressions, some breezy vocal harmonies and most importantly some wondrous songs. Quite simply brilliant!

With such a hard act to follow, you have to feel relatively sorry for The Hazey Janes. But to be fair, they don?t disappoint - with a set crammed full of country tinged power pop, like a less irritating version of The Magic Numbers with hints of early Delgados, complete with some lovely boy / girl vocals. When it works its damn near prefect, as on the sublime pop of ?Don?t Look Away? and ?Fire In The Sky?, and they?re also joined onstage by Tom White of the Soft Parade to add his guitar stylings to their closing number. Someone mentioned they don?t have a record deal?.if that?s the case then why the hell not?!

By the time the Electric Soft Parade amble onstage, they really do have to pull out all the stops for fear of being shown up by the two support acts - and its not often you can say that. The pressure is on.

Things kick off with a new instrumental, the 6 minute psychedelia of ?The Friday Before Christmas?, before pleasing the crowd with two old numbers - the rocking ?Things Ive Done Before? and ?Biting The Soles Of My Feet?, in which the guitar and vocal duties are shared by brothers Tom and Alex. By the time ?Human Body EP? tracks ?A Beating Heart? and ?Cold World? are dispatched, rock star shapes are being well and truly pulled by Tom White - and things are clearly going to plan. Alex White steps out from behind his keyboard to take over lead vocals and guitar for ?Lose Yr Frown?, much to the delight of sections of the crowd who duly partake in some mosh pit action down the front - whilst being keenly egged on by bassist Matt Thwaites.

Throughout the night the band are clearly chuffed at the turnout, as Tom continually thanks everyone for bothering to come and see them. Opportunities are taken to also air a few new tracks - the best of an impressive bunch being the partially acoustic ?Secrets? - sung and played beautifully on acoustic guitar by Tom, and featuring some lovely harmony vocals and gentle keyboard backing by Alex. "Keep your feelings well hid / they will only get trodden on / there are secrets to keep / you don?t have to tell everyone", as the spirit of Elliott Smith looms large.

The set is finished off with the slow space orchestration of ?Everybody Wants?, before the baying crowd urge the band triumphantly back on stage for an encore. "Do you want two new ones or two old ones?" asks Tom - which proves to be quite a silly question. Old it is then, and what a treat - two fan favourites from their debut album - ?Red Balloon For Me?, which sounds as wonderful as ever, and finally they?re joined by their old keyboard player Steve Large for a roaring version of their 2001 debut single ?Empty At The End?.

Triumphant return to the capital? Most definitely - in quite epic proportions!

Electric Soft Parade set:
The Friday Before Christmas, Things Ive Done Before, Biting The Soles Of My Feet, A Beating Heart, Cold World, Lose Yr Frown, Secrets, Misunderstanding, Silent To The Dark, If Thats The Case Then I Dont Know, So Much Love, Everybody Wants, Red Balloon For Me, Empty At The End

Ian Chambers, Oct ?06