One of the most exciting developments for Buffalo’s music scene has been the emergence of progressive and vibrant art spaces like Sugar City and Dreamland as music venues. These spaces are not only excellent for shows, intimate and immediate; they bring the city’s art and music scenes together in a search for mutual liberation and survival, and foster a more open ethos for both artist and audience that makes bands like Parade Chic, whose debut One And Only Secret dropped on Bandcamp last week, more possible.
Our Album of the Week, One And Only Secret Dream finds the previously lo-fi art rockers embracing a richer, almost chamber pop sound that’s preserves the Belle and Sebastian vibe while introducing an early of Montreal influence. Colin Griffin’s vulnerable and searching voice guides the whole effort, with standout cuts like the surging yet delicate “The Birds,” the simultaneously minimalist yet soaring melancholic title track, and the playful and rousing closer “Yes & No” providing shape and structure to the proceedings.
Alternating between classic song structures and less rigid, avant-garde diversions, One And Only Secret Dream is a snapshot of a band exploring the possibilities of their art and the music scene they’re a distinct part of, and Parade Chic are making the most of it.
Parade Chic’s One And Only Secret Dream is available for purchase on their Bandcamp page here. The band will have a release show this Thursday (12/17) at Mohawk Place featuring a Sonny Baker/Alex Berkley collaboration in addition to up-and-comers Urban Reverie.