Fumbling for some kind of love

I don't really understand how copyright works on band names. In 2001, Tom and Alex White, two brothers from Brighton, found out that there was a Doors tribute band in the States who had their name first, so the Whites had to add a word, thereby becoming the Electric Soft Parade. Meanwhile, there two different Hefners operating in the same city at the same time. Both were great, in jazzy / nerdy indie kinda ways.

Anyway.

I got to interview the Electric Soft Parade before a gig in late 2001, when they were on the way up. Their debut record came out in early '02, and was a solid combination of simple melodies, strong hooks, soaring choruses, and hopefully other adjectives that begin with 's'. Plus in 'Silent to the Dark', they had a nine minute epic to call their own. The album got a 9/10 review in the NME, which they handed out copies of at a gig, something I always thought was kind of naff. The album got them quite a bit of acclaim, but they fell out of view with their second album, the less instant and therefore more interesting 'American Adventure'. Then they vanished, getting more attention with their other project Brakes, who've received plenty of blog attention.

Anyway x2.

The ESP are back with a new label, new tour dates, and most importantly, a new record, called 'No Need to be Downhearted'. On first listen, it's pretty good - lots of reverb, healthy amount of melancholy, and a first single - 'Life in the Backseat' - that rocks pretty hard. And they've beefed up an old song, 'Cold World'. Compare and contrast the two versions, the older one being from their 'The Human Heart' EP.

[download The Electric Soft Parade - Cold World (EP version)] from sxsw.com
[download The Electric Soft Parade - Cold World (new version)]