Description
Much has changed for the members of The Paperhead since the release of their TiM debut back in 2011 – tours both domestically & abroad, more releases, college, life, work, love, tragedy. The span of time & growth (both personally & musically) are reflected in the ten tunes on the bands third album Africa Avenue
Recorded by the band themselves in bassist Peter Stringer-Hyes Nashville garage & mixed by Cooper Crain (Cave, Bitchin Bajas), Africa Avenue finds its groove in its unabashed melodicism & pop hooks. The title of the album is an homage to a street the band hung out on as children, and the experiences & memories created there drift in & out of lyrics that are appealingly abstract, but hint at an unspoken narrative.
The jaunty opener Africa sets the scene with guitarist Ryan Jennings acoustic strum & sly synth squiggles, before unloading a crunchy guitar hook unlike anything the band has done previously, letting listeners know that something new is happening here; a step towards a full & comfortable immersion in the sounds they love. The band makes no bones of its affection for Sixties & Seventies psychedelia, but Africa Avenue quietly tiptoes around easy comparisons, mutating itself into something more textured & intricate, leaning more towards avant-pop. The rest of the album has its fair share of stunners like the cosmic country of Mother May, the folk-raga of In A Corner, or the harpsichord-sprinkled majesty of Old Fashioned Kind all fight for ear-space in an album full of highlights.
The true key to the albums success lies in the bands synergy that comes from playing together since they were teenagers; the hive-mind that enables each to anticipate & play off each other, achieving an effortless grace in their arrangements & performance. Africa Avenue feels more organic, sounding like the work of a cracking live band in action rather than a heady, studio construction. A breath of fresh air & without a doubt, the bands most accomplished effort to date.
Africa Avenue by The Paperhead
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