Formed in Worthing, England, this melodic, moody, and lyrical trio came together in early 2018, when three old friends from the early-2000s indie circuit rekindled their interest in music making. Alex Borg (bass and programming) and Steve Murphy (guitar) first met as teenagers while stacking shelves in a supermarket. They bonded over a shared interest in music: Borg declared his love for the Stone Roses while Murphy showed enthusiasm for comparatively heavier acts, such as the Pixies and the Clash. This led to the pair performing together, sometimes on the same bill as Ben Todd, a Jersey-raised vocalist who learned guitar during the Brit-pop era and moved to Brighton in the early 2000s. Eventually, their involvement in these acts trailed off when each began to raise families in the immediate south coast area. Borg and Murphy both had daughters the same age, and a chance meeting at a birthday party in 2018 led to the former bandmates meeting up for a jam. In turn, they asked Todd to come on board -- he hadn't been involved in music for at least a decade -- and they ultimately became Moonlight Parade's main lyricist. Recorded in Borg's bedroom on a small budget, the songs that became September's Out of Nothing nodded to the gentler side of the Roses, as well as other classic indie acts that pushed songwriting to the forefront, from Echo & the Bunnymen to Doves. What was initially an album made for themselves became a word-of-mouth release among likeminded listeners on social media. Twelve months later, the interest it generated led to a limited-vinyl issue of the LP on their own Southview Records, but not before January 2019's Bright Lights EP and August 2019's Caught in a Wave appeared digitally. Whereas Out of Nothing had a raw charm -- each track had been captured in one or two takes -- Caught in a Wave was a more polished affair. By the time of the COVID-19 pandemic -- although Moonlight Parade's ambitions of performing live lay further afield -- their appearances had been restricted to five dates in Worthing. When the Paint the Sun EP was issued in summer 2020 it hinted at an ever-emerging sophistication from the trio, bringing acoustic instruments to the fore, and incorporating French-language narration into the title track. They rounded out the year with a remix of the Out of Nothing track "Low Sun" before issuing Caught in a Wave on vinyl as the new year progressed. ~ James Wilkinson