Customer Reviews

Stalled Parade

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I purchased "Stalled Parade" on the basis of some good buzz in the underground music place. Eleventh Dream Day, a "noise" band in the mode of Sonic Youth, has been around since the late 1980s and haven't generated a huge following outside their native Chicago. The music on this album sounds similar to the Youth at the turn of the 90s. Unfortunately, the band's sound is WAY out of vogue these days, and that's a shame because there's a lot to like here. At times, such as with the title song and "Way Too Early on a Sunday Morning," there's even a hook sprouting from the strange background sounds. Overall, this album transported me back to the pre-Brittney, pre-Eminem era when the term "alternative rock" actually meant something.

No offense to Freakwater fans, but i am SO glad when Ms. Bean and all the other Dream Day people get back together to do another record. I first heard their disc "Beet" when i was in exactly the right mood for something kinda like old-timey rough and melodo-punky that was at the same time brand new, and then i got totally hypnotized by their record "Eighth", which i found by accident in a noncyber store where it was filed under "D" instead of "E". Anyway, this latest disc is extra-dreamy, and even the cover art kinda reminds me in a good way of what a glorious mess things still are (believe it or not) at the edge of mainstream glitter and hype. The sounds that come off this record are rich and full of all kinds of mysteries, and Eleventh Dream Day completely deserves to be very un-obscure.

My brother bought Stalled Parade for me last Christmas. It was the first time I ever heard of Eleventh Dream Day. What have I been missing? ONLY ONE OF THE BEST BANDS IN EXISTENCE! I love this CD. All nine songs are excellently written and performed. I really enjoy the variation of vocals. The music reminds me of Neil Young, REM, and Fleetwood Mac, but it has an awesome new sound in it that I can't place. If you enjoy good rock music that is a genuine alternative to what is currently popular, buy Eleventh Dream Day's Stalled Parade. Rock on!

literate songsters with plenty of attitude and lots of great guitar. i love this band. this is underground rock that is highly emotional and uncompromising, with an accessible yet tough sound. the best thing about finding this band is that they've made a lot of recordings, so there is a feast for the ears waiting out there. highly recommended for all seekers of great rock and roll.

I'd place this next to Beet and Lived to Tell from the band's harsher, noisier late 80s- early 90s period for energy, and next to Ursa Major as the peak of their second phase as they delved into Tortoise member/ producer/ guest player John Mc Intire's electronic sheen that overlay their rawer, yet intimate, guitar- bass- drum attack, honed by the time of this album for a dozen years at least. It roars magnificently, and the hushed moments are just as exciting.

As my reviews on Amazon say for all EDD albums, there are the usual uneven stretches on this album, but I must say they are fewer on Stalled Parade. The record-- as with Lived to Tell-- crackles with tension. The increased use of processed sounds and studio manipulation results not in a sterile ambiance but a deeper soundstage that deserves fine headphones or great speakers to appreciate. It's very well produced. I would recommend it along with Ursa Major as the best entry into EDD's later period. Their albums by the 00s emerge more slowly, but they are always worth the wait. Yo La Tengo, New Radiant Storm King and EDD: few bands from the mid-80s continue today with the integrity and committment to quality music stubbornly true to a band's vision and not the charts. Long may they march.