Doug Gillard's latest work, Parade On, is a solo album, and when he says "solo" he means it. Apparently he created almost every sound on this record. He's played on a dizzying number of projects, always bringing guitar wizardry and a terrific melodic sense. This album is a logical step in his musical development, featuring as it does a wide variety of classic rock and postpunk sounds - not unexpected given his work in Lifeguards with Robert Pollard. Gillard has an easy way with the vocals here - nothing too grandiose, no fake British accent, just some engaging harmonies.
"Ready For Death", the opener, is upbeat and kind of Beatlesque - you could almost overdose on the jangle (in a good way):
Not to overdo the GbV connection, I think it's worth noting that Gillard spends plenty of time in all four P's, the most prominent being prog. But there's an underlying pop sense (a terrific one, really), plenty of psych and some punk elements - like his longtime playing and writing partner in Lifeguards and on the great Speak Kindly Of Your Volunteer Fire Department, Gillard serves all four major rock food groups to great effect.
Check out the prog/punk stylings of "Angel X". This video is from our friends at BreakThru Radio and if you stick around through the end of "Angel X" you will see some world-class Gillard shredding and a bit of the title track, performed live in studio:
In a similar vein are the longer tracks "Come Out And Show Me" and "Overseas", which also serve the purpose of giving Gillard plenty of room to stretch out and show off his guitar chops. And for fans of his expansive, varied work, that's going to be the highlight of Parade On, and is the main reason this one is not to be missed.
Parade On was recorded in New York City and Austin, TX, with Gillard playing every instrument except drums, which were played by George Duron and Travis Harrison, who also did some of the engineering. The album is out now (released 4/8).
Doug Gillard website
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