Single Review: Adam's parade - paint of the Artist
Let’s not mess around with this one, because Brisbane based Adam’s Parade clearly aren’t messing around either.
the emo/hardcore/pop-punk budding powerhouses are setting up to release their first EP, Same Heart/New Eyes. the initial single, Shade, dropped in September alongside the announcement of the EP and the talking point of this article, Paint of the Artist, dropped on Halloween.
Just in case you're not in the know already, lets catch you up to speed on Adam’s Parade. Luke, Devon, and Matt founded the band in Sydney in late 2019, before dropping their first release, Burying Friends, in May 2020. Anyone else remember what was going on at that time? No major world events that may hamper new bands from establishing themselves. They’ve clearly not let it hamper them though. They’ve been semi consistently releasing music and playing shows in the six years since. Having played shows across the country, they seem to have also broken the international barrier. in 2022, they set out on a uk tour, playing shows across England. This tour ended in my hometown, which is weird. Nearly no one plays shows in Northampton. More recently however, they left winter behind to head out and play festivals in Portugal and Romania this year.
It’s time to get down to business, let’s talk about Paint of the Artist. We’ve had just over a week to get acquainted, but it’s not too late to jump on the bandwagon. this is a good one.
I’m a big fan of how this song is structured. While it may be a relatively simple, intro-verse-chorus-verse-chorus-breakdown-chorus, each segment feels different to the last. The verses feel like they display the band’s pop-punk influence, where the choruses show that more hardcore/emo vibe, and don’t really overlap into each other. I am particularly enjoying the chorus on Paint of the Artist. It feels big and anthemic compared to lowkey driven verses. That contrast makes this song really pop off.
If you’ve read any of my other reviews, you know I’m a sucker for that nostalgic feeling. This track has it. Throughout the track, there are several moments that feel like references to different bands and different genres that wouldn’t have felt out of place twenty years ago. The ‘Let’s go’ as the intro riff hits, feels like it would sit so nicely in a Bullet for my Valentine track on The Poison. The dual vocal in the chorus that was so popular in the 00’s post-hardcore scene. The driving riff that has me wanting to listen to Hours by Funeral for a Friend. The synths in the breakdown reminds me of those early Enter Shikari albums. I love it. The blending of these different aspects from the genres, really works here. It perfectly taps into that everything was better when we were younger feeling.
Paint of the Artist is a great track to build anticipation for the first EP of Adam’s Parade’s career. If the EP is more of the same and builds on what we see in Paint of the Artist and what we saw in Shade, We are in for a real treat. I’m really looking forward to the next two tracks and the full release of Same Heart/New Eyes. With an, as of yet, unannounced release date, we’ll have to wait with bated breath and keep eyes on Adam’s Parade’s Instagram for news of the release.
