Words: Gareth O’Malley

That is probably the best album cover I’ve seen all year. Not just because it is eye-catching and inviting (and it’s even better because of this) but also because it sums up perfectly what the new record from Mice Parade is all about: colour. Lots and lots of colour.

Adam Pierce (see what he did there with the band name?) is back with his seventh album, and the revolving-door policy with his backing band means that the assemblage now includes the following: Doug Scharin, Dylan Cristy, Rob Laakso, Caroline Lufkin, Dan Lippel, Jeremy Backofen, Josh Mckay, Marc Wolf. Yes, that there is a nonet. A nonet!

‘What It Means To Be Left-Handed’ could be classified as ‘folktronica’ (staple reference point for that particular genre is Tuung; if you like them you’ll probably like this rather a lot’), but there are a plethora of more diverse influences that make the Mice Parade sound almost defy comparison.

Hints of West African highlife inform opener ‘Kupanda’, while ‘Couches and Carpets’ is drenched in highly effective swathes of tremolo guitar, giving the whole thing a shoegaze feel. Astonishing drumming from Pierce is present throughout the majority of the album; in particular, his polyrythmic groove on ‘Old Hat’ is jaw-droppingly effective, combining with classical guitar to weave a spellbinding tapestry of sound.