"One size fits all" when it comes to The PAPER JACKETS

EDITORS NOTE: The original album 'Elecric Youth' got shelved before its release date in April to make way for a new EP to be out on 8-3-18 and a Full cd album in November 2018. Some of these tracks will be released in Nov and some planned for a follow up next year!! So for now its all an exclusive for the Halshack baby!!

We will continue to spin more tracks from ELECTRIC YOUTH on future episodes. So you will at least get to hear most of this awesome unreleased material.


FACEBOOK page link...PAPER JACKETS

Every spring needs a fresh breath of adventure, every summer a new flame of sunshine and so too music always needs novel adventures to embrace and that is just what Paper Jackets bring with their debut album, "Electric Youth". A thick collection of songs nurtured in a captivating mix of indie rock and synth pop with plenty more to get the imagination going, the album is a boisterous blend of the engagingly familiar and boldly unique, one of those encounters which just gets under the skin.
Bursting from the LA indie pop scene Paper Jackets is a brand new proposition consisting of vocalist James Mason, keyboardist Emily Dickinson, guitarist Jonny Vesely, bassist Miles Franco, and drummer Michael Diguglielmo. Inspirations to their imagination come in the shape of artists such as (Sky Ferreira, BØRNS, Misterwives, and Walk the Moon), spices which have been embraced in a sound as big and rich as it is tight and ridiculously infectious, a viral quality fueling the inescapable lure of 'Electric Youth’. The album was recorded with producer Ethan Kaufmann, himself a potent ingredient in their home states pop and rock scene.

With themes exploring the anxieties and tensions of stepping into the world of being an adult as well as the darker corners of personal relationships, Electric Youth needed mere seconds to lure eager attention as opener “California State" unveiled its instantly magnetic welcome. Harmonies and melody straight away unite in a joyful stroll, rhythms just as inviting as they surround the swiftly magnetic tones of Mason. There are some vocal presences which make you look up, capture attention and his certainly achieves that with quick ease. An instinctive if undemanding swing to the song leads to the first of the albums rousing choruses, one of numerous elements within the song coming together for one highly flavorsome proposition. From dancing guitars to ear caressing keys, pulsating bass to air popping beats, each angle of the song unite their lean but rich presence for one ball of a start.

It is an outstanding first encounter with Paper Jackets which is more than matched by the following “Stand Back", a thickly engaging cover of the Stevie Nicks classic. Diguglielmo's hefty swings trigger a summer of melody and enterprise, keys accentuating the warmth with their suggestive glaze. The song's eighties scented synth pop soon grabbed hips and appetite while the emotive shadows spun by Mason had thoughts bound in the heart of the encounter. As its predecessor, the song is pop rock at its lustiness, bold and skillfully crafted fusing something familiar to the band's distinctive character.

The funk fueled dace of “Body Heat" has energy and appetite bouncing next; an impossible to ignore
chorus at its core surrounded by almost mischievous idealization in sound and energy. Once again you may feel there is much in the track which you already know but it only adds to the lively sensual seduction and temptation which is like seeing an old friend in a whole new light.

A beckoning of shadows line the fiercely irresistible “Night Time Killers", a song which has echoes of bands such as Depeche Mode and China Crisis to its flirtatious pop 'n' roll. Dickinson's keys pulsate with an almost portentous touch as Vesely aligns his wiry melodies to the suggestion of vocals and harmonies; a mix which again simply infests the imagination.

Four songs in and on the first listen alone vocal chords were as easily involved in the songs as the body, the persuasive quality all the best pop songs have and one both “Bad Manners" and
“Hip Hip Hooray" have in their contagious charms. The first has an infectious swagger to its saunter, a feisty nature and energy which urges the same tenacity from Mason and his increasingly expressive and impressive delivery. Its successor has a calmer gait and urgency but quickly baits attention with masterful hooks and the dancing keys of Dickinson, their smiling lures perfectly added to by the dark almost growling throb of Franco's bass. Ok, the track did not quite ignite the passions as forcibly as its predecessors yet everything about it is manipulative persuasion.

The best track for us is next in the atmospheric shape of “All Boys". It is a darker almost terrific proposal with menace in its intimation and defiance in its attitude but as virally contagious as anything on the album. Mason is the puppeteer to its drama, Franco the spine to its rapaciously solicitous temptation with all five members creating one of the most irresistible moments heard this year so far, and indeed the last, before “Last One Standing" strolls in with a (Hall & Oates) meets
(Red Hot Chili Peppers) scented enticement to keep the good times rolling for feet and spirit.

"Three for the Show“ captivates ears next, its gentle pop maybe promising more than it delivers at times but once more pleasure is to the rim, it is just the majesty of those before which leaves it in their shadows and something “Heart Is Yours" also comes up against as it shares its virulent croon. Each of the two though is as memorable as anything upon 'Electric Youth' in their own individual way as too, The Police-esque “Mary Louise". That (Sting and company) scent in various ways is a regular hue to Electric Youth and again only adds to its rich appeal.

The band's heavier rock instincts are brought to keen focus within next up “Graduation Day" guitars and rhythms colluding in a great fiery roar while “Another Song About Life" hugs ears and thoughts with its melancholic yet bright ballad.

Completed by acoustic versions of “California State “and “Stand Back", it is fair to say that 'Electric Youth’ had ears hooked on the first listen and even more lustfully involved thereon in. Pop and rock collude with almost fevered enthusiasm from first note to last in a release surely destined to be greedily devoured and subsequently acclaimed.

What a way to introduce yourselves….


Pete RingMaster 02/03/2018

THANK YOU SO MUCH TO PETE RINGMASTER OF THE RINGMASTER REVIEW for your hard work, time and attention to detail in this great early "peek" while we wait for the band to open up their dressing room door and unveil the new PAPER JACKETS!!

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Click the pic to link to RINGMASTER REVIEW

The RINGMASTER REVIEW is a prominent independent music reviewer based in the UK whom has been providing quality reviews and articles for the indie music scene for many many years in Great Britain and beyond! I'm proud to have Pete on my team of professional knuckleheads!