The Electric Soft Parade don't do sibling rivalry. It is mutual respect, sideways glances and concealed sniggers that fuel the White brothers' collaboration. And an inability to get their guitars to work.
With their gift for heart-swelling melodies, rock guitars and understated vocals, these siblings are sensitive boys with issues. But although a dark and tender heart squirms within the sugar-coated indie pop of their debut album, Holes in the Wall, the misery is only a flesh wound. They are too young to have any serious scars to dent their enthusiasm.
Both brothers are multi-instrumentalists, which proves handy for this stripped-down, no drums, no bass gig. Tom White, the 18-year-old drummer is a charismatic bundle of nervous energy, scrunching his mop-top hair in his hands and throwing Elvis poses. "We're really, really fucking scared," he admits, strapping on his guitar and looking a little uncomfortable without the usual shelter of his drum-kit. The cherubic-faced teenager paces around the tiny stage, gripping his guitar in readiness and looking to Alex White, a mere 20 years old, for reassurance. Once Red Balloon for Me begins, Tom White's eyebrows knit together in concentration, as his hushed, lilting voice, for once not obscured by effects, yearns against the choppy rhythm.
In contrast, Alex White is intense and wiry, nodding his head and frantically strumming his acoustic guitar as if playing in a German thrash metal band. Handling the vocals for Stay Where You Are, his phrasing is a little more definite and his delivery more confident without losing the warm, winsome quality of the songs.
The cascading melody of Empty at the End is gorgeous, Tom White's acoustic guitar providing motion as the keyboardist adds pace. A wheezing melodica later enhances the sadness of Silent to the Dark, and they also premiere a quiet and thoughtful new song, The Wrongest Thing. But there is a submerged aggression to their music, and a cover of the Vines' Get Free gives them an opportunity to shriek before dissolving into giggles. The kids may play at being angst-ridden, but they are all right really.
