Artrocker Magazine review sent in by Dan F When a form of music is 'post' something, what does that mean? I've heard Simon Raymonde first used the term to describe a clutch of bands in the early Nineties. More commonly it refers to a series of groups in the Eighties who played within the punk circuit, but warped the music with different influences. If the benchmark is Gang Of Four, it's evident that they loved Disco as much as the Buzzcocks, the BBC Radio-phonic workshop as well as the Pistols. So why is 'post-punk' now a buzz-term for the bands the NME chooses to pedal? A generation of boys who grew up amongst Brit-Pop, then looked backwards in revolt as the industry's Chief Executive baton was passed from those reared in the Sixties and Seventies to those who were impressionable in the Eighties. So what the point is; is this, Battle, The Rakes, Maximo Park etc are not 'post' anything, they're not progressive in the same fashion as those bands who changed the conventions. They're replicants, comforters of the industry workforce. The Electric Soft Parade are 'post' and they're doing something different, as this EP blindingly proves. From the QOTSA meets Gorecki in 'Kick In The Teeth' a song as guttural as it is symphonic, through to the acoustic John Barry-esque score 'Everybody Wants' this is a yearning release that can walk the timeline throughout musical styles and history, and still come out with a brand new I-Pod and 'The Ultimate Scratch'. Whilst it's easy to overlook them for their major label history, they're now on the impeccable Truck Records and they're stronger, more interesting and certainly more vital than ever. This six song EP throws more ideas into one cohesive body of work than the 'rock revolution' has done in the last five years. Don't believe me? Jonathon Falcone