Stone Parade – ‘Stratosphere’ | Album Review

Review: Billy Geary

Decent, straightforward rock music is becoming increasingly hard to find in Australia of late. With the recent break up of Silverchair and Powderfinger, arguably the country’s biggest rock bands, there is a huge void to be filled. Since the release of their sophomore album, Stone Parade have shown that they have the potential to fill that void. Chock full of outstanding instrumentation and hard hitting hooks; Stratosphere should by all rights shove them right into the spotlight.

Coming across as the devil child of The Killers and Incubus, Stone Parade have mastered the art of infusing subtle experimentation in to short, sharp and catchy alt rock. Opener and lead single ‘Paranoia’ is a testament to this, with Greg Byrne’s slick vocals cutting through the chunky guitars and percussion. Its off kilter sound is somewhat misleading when compared to the rest of the album, which is by no means a bad thing. In fact when the band venture into more straightforward territory they excel also. ‘Children of the Lost Empire’ and ‘Desert Rain’ are perfect examples of this.

Elsewhere, ‘Mr Spaceman’ could have been taken straight off The Killers debut, complete with a smattering of keyboards and one of the more infectious choruses on the album. ‘Black Dove White Heart’ follows the same trend, coming across as the bastard child of Muse and Incubus.

The title track features one of the better choruses on the album, with vocalist Greg Byrne seemingly channelling Brandon Boyd, which is by no means a bad thing. In fact, one of Stone Parade’s biggest assets, particularly on Stratosphere are Byrne’s vocals. This is particularly prevalent on tracks such as ‘Paranoia’ and epic 7 minute closer ‘August Tide.’ Complete with strings and an array of other instruments, the more experimental closer is one of the best songs on the album, if just for the fact that it shows they can branch out their sound and still remain interesting.

Where Stratosphere’s true strength lies is in the fact that while it is made up of what seems like straightforward rock songs, under the surface there is quite a bit of experimentation. What this does is ensure Stone Parade stands out from the crowd, particularly on tracks such as ‘Paranoia’ with it’s off kilter melodies and the very impressive ‘Indian Wolves’ where the band make use of a didgeridoo to outstanding effect. It is in these songs that the five-piece show their true talents, maintaining an errant catchiness and remaining ever interesting to listen to.

With the quality to be found on Stratosphere, Stone Parade definitely have the potential to become one of the bigger rock bands in Australia. Writing a few more songs like ‘Paranoia’ is going to see them get there pretty damn quickly. Stratosphere truly announces Stone Parade as the kings of Australia’s young breed of rock, showing bands like Birds of Tokyo and Gyroscope that they’ve got some competition coming at them pretty damn fast. Stratosphere is an outstanding record from one of Australia’s most promising up and comers.

Review: Billy Geary

– Stratosphere – Stone Parade

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