A Festival, A Parade bring fireworks with ‘If Dogs Could Talk…’

Every weekday, DIY’s new music know-it-all Neu brings you one essential new release to get obsessed with. Today’s Neu Pick comes from A Festival, A Parade.

It’s been said before, but we’ll say it again. Something is afoot in Newcastle. Fuzzy bunch Eat Fast are one of the best new bands we’ve heard in yonks. The lazy-day breeze of Seeing Hands is a great pull, too. But a mention of the city’s current pack shouldn’t omit A Festival, A Parade.

The four-piece specialise in dark, atmospheric build. Brooding baritone vocals only add to hints of The National, but in ‘If Dogs Could Talk…’, they throw themselves towards completely different territory in the space of four minutes. Structures collapse with the flick of a switch, and the group swing from elegant gloominess to hyperactive, twitching math-rock. Nothing’s off the agenda, and in frontman Joe Allan (not to be confused with the near-namesake, chicken-loving Stoke City midfielder), they have one hell of a leader.

Catch A Festival, A Parade at the following shows:

SEPTEMBER
30 Newcastle, Think Tank? (w/ The Pale White, Plaza)

OCTOBER
08 Middlesbrough, Twisterella Festival
13 Newcastle, Think Tank? (w/ Tall Ships)