‘Holes In The Wall’ by The Electric Soft Parade

I must have bought this about eight years ago after seeing The Electric Soft Parade perform ‘Empty At The End’ on Later with Jools Holland. It was one of those pitch-perfect performances that grabbed me instantly – I won’t say I rushed out to buy the album the next day, but it was added to a mental list, and it didn’t take too long.

It’s a good album. I have no idea where the band are now, but this was a good enough to debut for me to buy the follow up a couple of years down the line. The band (I think, in reality, they were more of an augmented duo) wrote fairly straightforward indie-pop songs with good harmonies and played them well. They weren’t going to change anyone’s life, but the album rattles along nicely and doesn’t outstay its welcome. Even ‘Silent To The Dark’, with its extended coda, is over before you wish it wasn’t. An overlooked gem.