Duane Hoover Drops A Huge Rock Record
A fresh new album release from Duane Hoover delivers the artist's classic blend of catchy comment pop-coated indie rock, all with this influence coming from vintage songwriting of the '60s and 70s.
Sharade Parade is one of the artist's best releases to date, in my opinion. This is mainly because the record showcases how the artist is able to branch out and hit different elements of rock music consistently.
The guitar tones are similar but still range a little bit from song to song, and this is also, again, because he's writing songs that almost feel like they're coming from different eras of music, and then coding them with this sort of rock underbelly.
"The Way Things Fall Apart" opens the record up and does an amazing job of introducing you to the rest of the LP. You have catchy vocals, double tracked, melodically driving, and a little bit in depth in terms of that storytelling.
Duane is an excellent storyteller in general, and a lot of the songs depict great situations coming from personal perspectives, and pull you into them because of how he articulates those lyrics.
This first track is a very indie rock-style single, and you can still hear that pop sensibility shining through as it is quite catchy, especially at those hooks.
"Everytime" is one of my favorites on the record, giving a little bit more of a garage rock style, utilizing a fuzz-tone bass guitar to drive the song forward, and with a vocal performance that's far more attitude-riddled.
This track has a great rock swagger to it and was quite addicting, catchy, and for me, radio-friendly.
This also shows how the artist is able to experiment and again, branch off into some different directions while still keeping that rock underbelly firmly intact and thinking about the pop aspects of things as well.
A lot of the songs have heavy-handed pop sensibilities, but are a little outside the box at the same time.
For example, "Everytime I Think About You" is a sort of doo-wop-inspired track that sounds like it came from the late 50s or early 60s. The way the vocals come together, the backing tracks, and the piano serve as the base of everything, bopping along and getting you into the groove- is all super vintage feeling.
He really nails that aesthetic as well in terms of how he creates the vocal melodies for songs like this one.
Meanwhile songs like the title track, "Sharade Parade" deliver clean, crisp, acoustic guitars and loads of vocal hooks left and right, even in the verses.
So, you can see that there's a lot to chew on with this record, and it is pretty big. The LP stands 16 songs and it's just over an hour in length.
There are no two songs that are really super alike, but again, everything connects with each other really well.
A lot of the songs feel kind of personal. For example, one of the ones I just mentioned, "Everytime I Think About You", digs into some memories that he had with a certain person.
He gets a little detailed and pretty descriptive, but it all comes from this semi-emotional place, which makes perfect sense with a sentiment like this one.
Some of the songs, like this, have a certain warmth to them. They're a bit inviting, which I enjoyed a lot.
Our ballad-style tracks like "After The Storm In Your Mind", which is an absolute powerhouse and features all kinds of great textures coming from new instrumentation, deep-rooted guitar tones that feel semi-heavy, and, to an extent, along with this sort of elegance that comes through in the performance and the songwriting.
This is one of those albums you should listen to all the way; it's an hour long, but it's totally worth it because there are so many different things to grab onto here. Along with the songwriting, storytelling, and fusion of indie, classic, and other approaches to contemporary and rock music, you have heart.
This is a record bursting at the seams with truth, character, and heart. Those are the kind of attributes that make the album memorable.
Some of these choruses bounce around in your head for days after they have ended, and you'll find yourself humming melodies from this release without even noticing it at first.
Again, this is because of how Duane keeps that pop element in mind almost always. He wants to write songs that have depth, which they do, but he also wants them to be catchy, which they are a lot of the time.
All in all, this is a vintage, classic, and indie rock record that has a very unique way of pulling you in and sort of engulfing you in the soundscapes that you are hearing.
Some of the songs give you bouts of nostalgia; they feel a little bit familiar, and again, this is because he's going for that classic aesthetic, and he's pretty much nailing it.
I would definitely dig deep into this record because it's loads of fun and gives you a lot of insight as to the artist's personality and how he can create songs that feel like they were made for you to relate to.
So, without further ado, dive into this record, and if you like it, you're going to like a lot of the other releases from Duane Hoover as well.
Sharade Parade - Album by Duane Hoover | Spotify
DUANE HOOVER | Explore and Listen Now
