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NME Reviews

The Electric Soft Parade

No Need To Be Downhearted

The Parade always had a way with a tune. So what could have been the summer’s most glorious comeback has been ruined by muso-ness, lurching schizophrenically from the sublime to the insufferable. ‘Misunderstanding’ is an ace Spiritualized-inspired skipalong and piano-led romp ‘Cold World’ finds an untapped existence between The Beatles and early Thrills that’s miles better than it sounds on paper. But, ‘Woken By A Kiss’ is the sort of indulgent old-prog NME thought had died out with King Crimson, and what this record tragically tends to lean towards. When it strays from charmingly retro to willfully ‘raw’ it all goes wrong.

Rebecca Robinson

4 out of 10

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