Halifax pop-rockers Quiet Parade will be dropping their eighth album, the appropriately-named The Will To Weather The Storm about a week from now, and most recent of its teasers is the new single “Don’t Put It On Me”. The band combines catchy, upbeat chords with timely themes that simultaneously compliment and contradict the music in all the best ways.
“This is a song about being born into crisis; about living in a world that seems unfixable when we’re all shouting over one another; about looking to the past to recognize that the wisdom of our elders can teach us more about how to care for the future,” says Quiet Parade frontperson Trevor Murphy.
It’s not uncommon for artists to hide dark messages in happy-sounding songs; some notable practitioners being Foster The People and Hollywood Undead. Quiet Parade’s single opts to take such a route, albeit in an arguably less-dark manner. The music would make for a great fit for an intro in a feel-good, coming-of-age TV series; the lyrics, meanwhile, explore how our generation was born into the eve of a global crisis, and the weight we have to shoulder due to mistakes that were not our own.
And yet, despite this contradiction, the band’s instruments add a layer of hope to the situation that their lyrics present to us, encouraging us to stay strong, positive, and forward-thinking, even in the face of disaster.
“These themes resonate for all of us right now – perhaps more than ever. In a month, the world may look completely different. When that time comes, perhaps you will find something meaningful in the songs we’ve collected, in the words I’ve written, and in this body of work that we have worked so hard to create,” says Murphy.
Playing it safe with their guitars and vocal chords while being adventurous with their themes and scope, Quieter Parade seems to have gotten everything right with “Don’t Put It On Me,” which is bound to be a standout on their upcoming album.