Former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr unveiled his second new song of 2019, “The Bright Parade.”
Though much of the song is cloaked in a gauzy, shoegaze aura, “The Bright Parade” is anchored by a mesmerizing scorcher of a guitar riff and a churning bass line. In an interview with DIY, Marr said the song was partly inspired by his interest in outer space, which he deftly connected to another kind of star system — the world of celebrity.
“I think this track is more of a story… more of a psychedelic musical track,” Marr said. “Maybe I’ve been quite preoccupied with the cosmos over the last couple of years but it’s the perfect metaphor for the star system — whether that’s a rock star or a movie star or a reality TV star. I think half my mind was still in the cosmos and the other half was around these vacuous modern day reality stars. ‘The Bright Parade’ puts the two together and puts it on top of a psychedelic backing track.”
“The Bright Parade” follows Marr’s previously released song, “Armatopia,” which arrived in February with a karaoke-themed music video. Marr released his latest solo album, Call the Comet in 2018.