Down the rabbit hole.
If you were a 30 something swinger in 2000 then the choice of music to be played as you tossed your keys into the ashtray was easy. Chillout blended together the banality of 60s lounge and the beats of modern house and just like that, you could feel like you were getting down with the kids again (shortly before getting down to "business"). These days however we are all sick of bands such as Air and iMonster and have developed into wanting something more advanced, challenging even. Things really changed when the good old BBC decided to use Hoppípolla by Sigur Ros on their trailers for their Planet Earth nature series. World music, with its alien soundscapes and dense, classical styling, suddenly became the new Chillout.
"Parades" is so steadfast in this new world genre that it can barely move. It is exactly the kind of album that wouldn't have existed five years ago, unless it was soundtrack to some low budget indie film about two small town twentysomethings falling in love. There is plenty to dislike about this album in that its dull and pallid, but there is also a charm that goes with it that is captivating. It is rare that one gets to listen to an album so contradictory.
To make this absolutely clear, if you have the attention span of someone with ADHD and find it hard work listening through some of Green Day's songs from the early 90s then don't even bother. Each song does not so much begin and end as it does exist in that particular moment of time. The changes are subtle and the tempos are far from pulse raising. The orchestration, while luscious, fails to instill emotion and, given that each except one reaches over four minutes, the songs don't actually do an awful lot except plod.
But, what "Parades" does do is provide a sound to your memories, thoughts and feelings. You have to use your imagination a fair bit to get this effect but the sparseness of the music does give a lot of room to fill the gaps when your mind wonders. It is doubtful that this was the intention, but it does transform it into something played in the background when you parents come round, to something that you can listen to on the tube on headphones, pretending that the obnoxious child who won't sit still is actually dancing.
And while this is not exactly a saving grace for "Parades" it does add enough interest to offer a reserved recommendation. The swingers will find that it induces more sleep than any other kind of nocturnal activity and most will simply be bored, but if you are a thoughtful and free thinking dreamer, then you'll find something to love here.