 The
Paperplanes
Self-titled CDEP
Self-released
Genres: indie rock, noise rock
email the
band
Nov 22 - 28 2004 |
Little EPs like this are always getting sent to me by obscure indie rock bands, and quite often I'll find a diamond in the rough. Such is the case with The
Paperplanes, who threw me a cute little package of five songs in a
plastic slip-pouch. The design was slick, but the music was
still a question mark. That is, until I listened to it. It's easy to see why The Paperplanes haven't been signed to
an indie rock label yet - their sound definitely needs to be refined a
bit - but these five songs certainly show the band's keenness for
catchy indie rock songwriting. Their music is fresh,
hip-sounding, and quite memorable - the only problem is the lack of
a cohesive "band" feeling - there is no trend in these songs
that grabs you and gives you an overall sense of what The
Paperplanes ARE.
"Fever Blister" starts this EP off in a cool, New
York-style vein, while "Constant Frustration" and
"Mexico" are jumpy, poppy rock tunes reminiscent of Superchunk,
and Clinic. "Time Won't Build," on the other
hand, is an airy, not-entirely-successful indie pop number, and
"Live How We Live" is the epic finale, targeted mainly at
the late-night hipster demographic.
As a modern indie rock disc, this EP succeeds - perhaps it's a bit
derivative, but such things are excusable for a debut. However,
no matter how hard I try, I can't pick The Paperplanes out of a
crowd; Modest Mouse, Sebadoh, even some lesser known
bands... they all have unique, recognizable sounds - this band is
going to need some time to establish an individual style. For
now, I can definitely see a label showing some interest in The
Paperplanes; with a solid EP like this under their belts, it's
hard to imagine them staying unsigned for long.
82%
Fun Fact: More
on paper planes!
Matt Shimmer [Vitals:
5 tracks, distributed by the
band, released 2003] |
