Troy Gregory is spooky. He keeps his apartment decorated like Halloween all year round. He’s got a deep, brooding voice to sing his twisted songs about ghosts and haunted houses. Hell, he called his band The Witches. Knowing this, you’d think On Parade might be more Black Sabbath sounding than, say, The Kinks, but that’s not the case. This is a garage-pop classic. The album bounces from song to song using tambourines, horns, and ‘la-la’ backing vocals to get you there. “Y Do U Make Me Feel Like That” and “I Luv’d Wrong” hide their angst- and regret-filled lyrics under a panorama of fuzz-guitar rock ‘n’ roll. “The Invisible Miserable People Have Reappeared” uses an almost surfer-sounding riff – ‘ooh-ooh’ backing vocals and a sweet baritone sax make a stellar track. The best songs on the album find a way to combine The Beatles, The Ramones, and a dash of The Velvet Underground with the modern sound of today’s Detroit garage scene. In fact, the current line-up of the band consists of members of other Detroit-area bands including The Sights and The Alphabet.

On Parade was recorded in one week and captures all the energy and excitement of such a session. It has a sound reminiscent of an Elephant 6 band but with a darker edge and a heavier sound. Spooky doesn’t always have to conjure up songs about devil worship and backward lyrics; sometimes it just becomes good music.