Tuesday 26 February 2019

La Parade - Voces Del Exilio


Labels: Zegema Beach Records/Maniyax Records/Gato Encerrado Records
Formats: Vinyl/CD/Digital
Release Date: 20 Jan 2014

Tracklist:

1. Nuevos Idolos
2. Descarne
3. Noveno Romance
4. Diez Mil Rostros
5. Lo Que Fui, Lo Que Soy
6. Ruinas De Infancia
7. Bruma En Mi
8. Paris Ha Caido
9. Ascuas
10. Requiem

Instalment number 4 in my ongoing look back at the Zegema Beach Records roster and if you think this series is a big undertaking, you'd be correct but I'm gonna carry on with it because I'm bloody minded. This latest review focuses on the first full-length from Spanish post-hardcore band La Parade. It was release via ZBR, as well as Maniyax Records and Gato Encerrado Records in early 2014. on cd and vinyl. La Parade was founded in 2012 and released two full-lengths before calling it a day in late 2015.

La Parade is a name that I’ve come across a few times and as with a lot of bands, it seems that I only truly catch on when they’re gone. It’s certainly the case with some of bands I’ve featured in the series so far. At least their music is still available in various forms. The opener to “Voces Del Exilio” is Nuevos Idolos and it starts life as clean-sung Spanish language post-hardcore with great instrumental melody and percussive flair.

La Parade’s harsher side comes out on Descarne. It’s a wonderful mix of speaker friendly singing and jarring screams, where the music becomes heavier and more dissonant, albeit briefly. They have a penchant for writing impressive ballads, as exhibited by the dramatic delivery of Noveno Romance. La Parade threatens to explode here but never do, instead reigning in their emotions and channelling them into creating a spectacle of different proportions. The same can definitely be said for Diez Mil Rostros, which incidentally was amongst the first songs they ever released, on the 2013 EP of the same name. 

The introspective mid-section during Lo Que Fui, Lo Que Soy is filled with spoken word and calming riffs, which are slightly at odds with the rest of the song, which is more off-kilter’ however, being at odds is no bad thing at all and La Parade pull off the transitions between styles really well indeed.  Despite the album’s mid-pace tempos it goes by fairly quickly and before you know, Ruinas De Infancia is pulling you deeper into it’s second half with more of the same. It’s a longer and more progressive song that tells a story as it goes (one which I can’t translate). 

The deeper you get into ‘Voces Del Exilio” it becomes apparent that there’s a lot more to La Parade than just post-hardcore. Yes they’re very good musicians but they also have an ear for engaging soundscapes and the song-writing to back it up. Bruma En Mi is a brooding song that features plenty of ambience during it’s quieter verses and more obvious experimentation as well. After Bruma En Mil ends abruptly there’s a pause before Paris Ha Caido follows on, seemingly as if the the two were meant as one. It’s a shorter song but it follows on with no change in dynamic or momentum and musically it’s as breathtaking and the songs before it. There was clearly no loss of imagination when these final few songs were penned.

Ascuas goes by in a blur of yet more dissonant instrumentation and screaming, leading to the aptly named Requiem, which closes things out. It’s here that La Parade’s true quality really hits you and just having the opportunity too appreciate them and their music is obvious. It condenses the essence of their sound into 6+ minutes, which only goes to highlight how good this entire record is. Sometimes after countless searching, you find that one band or album that really feels special. “Voces Del Exilio” is one of those albums.

You can stream and purchase the album digitally via La Parade's Bandcamp page below:-




You can still buy physical copies from the labels below:-

Zegema Beach Records - http://www.zegemabeachrecords.com/
Maniyax Records - http://maniyax.com/

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