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Paperface
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The Legend Of Harry Knowles
Takeover Records
Release: 10/18/2005
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Rated:
Review by:
Chas Hoppe
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I sincerely want to like this album more than I do. Truly,
there is quite a bit to enjoy here. Paperface, who are
composed of the brothers Chris and Andrew Merritt, have a
classic sound. Adhering strictly to a strong sense of melody,
the songs on The Legend Of Harry Knowles
create a very lively blend of love songs and feel-good
rockers sprinkled with great moments of tongue-in-cheek
lyricism and soaring background vocals.
No matter where the songs go, the album always grounds
itself with Chris Merritt's contemplative piano parts. While
this is a reassuring sound to return to, it has the tendency,
especially into the middle of the record to stall the
momentum the record had been building. This is not an easy
criticism to make, since songs like "Familiar Faces," in which
Chris laments not having a "damn Wolverine mutation,"
among other things, is a beautiful song. Coming on the heels
of a song like "Good Times" might have been a mistake,
since this is one of the most upbeat songs on the
record.
There are times when the Merritt brothers seem to become
aware of this problem, and become quite playful with it, like
in the song "Three Times a Week," which never stays the
same path for too long, yet always stays interesting. In fact,
a song such as this seems to be what Paperface is trying to
get at the whole time. It's a better sound for them, and the
playfulness in this tune seems to fit their personalities as
musicians a little better.
The understated presence of the more energetic tunes on
this album may very well be due to the DIY approach the
Merritt brothers have undertaken as they've brought
Paperface into the world. Though each brother covers his
fair share of musical duties, more than one drummer makes
appearances on the album, and my guess is that the drum
sessions were not recorded live with the Merritt brothers in
the room. This is not necessarily a criticism, since I applaud
any person or group that takes initiative in their own
creative destiny, but it seems obvious to me that Paperface
would benefit from a permanent band, which would help
them achieve the loose sound they hint at a little more
easily.
That being said, the album production is quite good. For the
most part, all of the instruments sound bright and full. There
is the occasional flat-sounding backup vocal, and the only
reason these are noticeable is because of how level
everything else sounds. These are admittedly not a big deal,
and don't distract from the music. The hidden track, "Dance
Karate," is phenomenal, disco or not. They nailed it. In fact,
it's songs like this that make me very optimistic about
Paperface's future. They might not have quite nailed what
they were looking for with this record, but there is enough
on here to showcase their skills, and it should only take a
small push to get these guys where they need to be. |
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