All the new music available these days means standout albums — such as the recently released “What It Means to be Left-Handed” by Mice Parade — are almost like shooting stars.
Not that Mice Parade founder Adam Pierce, formerly of the Swirlies, the Dylan Group and other indie bands, is boastful about it.
“The only thing I was hoping was to make this a generally happy record,” Pierce said. “A lot of it was written on the fly.”
The band members of Mice Parade are spread out throughout the country, so Pierce generally sketches out the songs, including playing all the instruments, and then sends those broad strokes to the players to refine.
That’s not surprising when you understand that Pierce formed Mice Parade as a solo venture. That means the percussionist can twist and turn the music as he wants — and what’s great is that it works.
Consider this latest album, which has music arguably built on a 1980s and 1990s indie rock platform with smatterings of pop, African percussion, jazz and beyond. Some of it owes to pop radio songs that are a favorite of Pierce’s girlfriend. Others are just bits of sound he enjoys and wanted to mix into his musical stew.
“My girlfriend likes pop radio and we listen to flamenco,” Pierce said. “I have tons of instrument I use. It’s not so much [conscious] thought. I just used a dulcimer here or analog synths on the first track. That’s how I do it.”
Adding to the new sound are various new vocalists that Pierce found bring exciting new sounds to the tunes.
Not bad for someone who says the songs were built from “bits and pieces over the past two years.”
“I wouldn’t say we have a focused deadline we gave ourselves,” he said. “I was just feeling happy and some said that perhaps Mice Parade songs are sad. So this reflects my happy mood.”
