Kevin Bronson on December 9th, 2009

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By Meriah Doty

Spaceland housed a respectable crowd on a chilly Tuesday night for Long Beach band Parade of Lights. It was the release party for their debut EP, and the quartet came prepared with shirts, CDs and even their own fancy set of stage lights.

To add to their bright vision, they opened with a song titled “First Light.” The venue illuminated as their sound swelled on the bridge into well-rehearsed, familiar power chords – which, when layered with ringing guitars and keening synths, added up to songs that reached for grand emotional sweep.

Frontman Ryan Daly can invoke a Bing Crosby lilt that makes the pretty scene girls swoon. Add POL’s synth keys and one of their slower-tempo numbers, like the piano ballad “Season of Sound,” and ’80s OMD is invoked. In between songs, Daly chats, revealing his well-adjusted, earnest personality. He admits his guitar was out of tune and apologizes. Ryan, we couldn’t tell.

POL is the band next door, a perfect fit for any MTV reality show or CW Network soundtrack. It’s easy to imagine prom DJs spinning their record – at least in the LBC. Hey, the nice kids need a band too.

Photos by Kessia Embry