A couple of years ago, I read an article about grade inflation—high school kids getting 4.5 GPAs, their schools offering scads of advanced classes to facilitate this swelling “achievement.” Humbug, I thought.
Well, I’m inflating my grade of the newest from Papercuts, You Can Have What You Want. My reasoning is this: 1) I don’t think a contemporary album can really earn a 10, essentially deeming it perfect, because it has to hold up for longer than the few weeks between when the reviewer received it and then reviewed it, 2) Papercuts’ previous record, Can’t Go Back, was nearly perfect and gets closer and closer as time goes by (in my opinion), and 3) this new album doesn’t crush you quite like the last, but it is strong and beautiful and compelling, and I’m certain I’ll be listening to it for a long time, and I really want you to listen to it, too. Thus, number nine.
Jason Quever, the artistic force behind Papercuts, has this lush voice that might leave the first-time listener curious about its gender. When, on “Dead Love,” he sings “And I wonder how I’m high,” his voice is truly filled with wonderment, not to mention a little despair. Beyond the search for an answer, you can sense his need to find it. Quever’s dreamy vocals are only one of the elements that take Papercuts back to another time. No doubt, drenching reverb on a song like “Future Primitive” helps with that transport. There’s an inviting elasticity to the song’s opening. The bass stings feel loose, the drumheads resonate deeply and warmly—trademark sounds for Papercuts. Strings are employed throughout the record, the third from Papercuts. The violins don’t overwhelm the music, simply add ripe texture.
Without Quever’s songwriting prowess, though, none of the tones or notes would matter. He has cut these songs to the skin. The organ wending its way through each of these songs certainly bestows upon them a sadness, but the cumulative dreaminess of it all lifts Papercuts into the airy, sun-dappled sky. Springtime seems like the ideal moment for a new Papercuts album to land at our feet, when we need something beautiful to rinse off the dreariness of a winter passed. So here it is. Wonder no longer.
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