Mice Parade preview

Mice Parade
Schubas, Chicago
Sunday, May 20, 2007

We aren’t sure what an actual parade of mice would sound like (unless Speedy Gonzalez was the grand marshall), but it would likely be pretty quiet. Probably a lot like Mice Parade the band.

And by band we mean Adam Pierce, the sole creative force behind the group since its 1999 debut, Ramda. Because of his tendency to follow one record with something completely different, Pierce has earned a reputation as an adventurer in the indie rock world, and his most recent, Mice Parade backs that reputation. Occasionally, like on “Satchelaise” or its predecessor, “Snow,” Pierce seems riled up enough to almost fit the definition of being riled up. But even while he attacks his guitar with forceful strums, his voice remains subdued and hushed, much like Nick Drake’s, whose fingerprints are smudged all over Pierce’s songwriting. This is fine unless Pierce becomes so relexed he sounds like he just doesn’t care – “The Last Ten Homes” – but that doesn’t happen often.

Pierce may write by himself, he isn’t against studio collaborations. Laetitia Sadier of Stereolab drops in on “Tales Of Las Negras,” but it’s Kristin Anna Valtysdottir of Icelandic experimentalist múm who steals the show on “Double Dolphins On The Nickel” with her breathy, child-like vocals that make an already hauntingly spare song that much more spooky. Valtysdottir was a touring member of Mice Parade from 2003 to 2006; this tour will feature Pierce backed by Dough Scharin (Rex), Dylan Cristy (Dylan Group), Jay Israelson (Lansing-Dreiden), and Dan Lippel.

Tom Brosseau and David Karsten Daniels open.

– Trevor Fisher

Click here for streaming samples of Mice Parade.

Category: Stage Buzz, Weekly