|
03/13/10 Feast of Fools! Minneapolis
03/20/10 Triple Rock Minneapolis 03/27/10 Shuga Records Minneapolis Read More |
Minneapolis-born Paragraphs recently released You Can’t Make a Ghost Without Its Sheet, a six-song EP that resembles something Barret Oliver heard while flying with his Luck Dragon. Ambiguous and wistful, YCMGWIS channels Fantasia by way of drowsy co-ed mixers; if Bastian grew up, smoked a bowl, and gorged on Boards of Canada, no doubt he’d listen to Paragraphs.
The multi-instruminimalist group is comprised of three fresh faced musicians. These guys (and gal) look like students at a clean, Midwest liberal arts university. It’s impressive, then, that a band so young sounds so traveled. Where today’s youth are hell-bent on being simply loud and loudly simple, Paragraphs ups the creative ante with their complex, rich arrangements.
You Cant Make a Ghost Without Its Sheet is Paragraph’s debut EP. Besides challenging Yo La Tengo for Album Title Least Likely to Abbreviate, YCMGWIS recalls the rock factor of early Stone Roses in brand new digs, with a little Godspeed! thrown in for dark measure. It’s difficult to classify this style of music, though critics try. ‘Ambient,’ ‘experimental,’ ‘shoegaze’…no one adjective entirely fits.
“Let’s Meet Halfway (And Fall Apart)” could make the dance floor sway at night in the right ambient, Ambien-induced context; while “It’s Sunset at Midnight” imagines a Sergio Leone Western panorama through a Tarantino lens. There’s plenty to admire about YCMGWIS—full, organic compositions (as opposed to the cyber drone of electronica); yet one can’t help wondering if, during an age of hip, frenetic art pop, a band sans hooks and chorus can survive.
In the immortal words of Winston Churchill: “Never, never, never give up.” Paragraphs continue to persevere in this Mason Jenningscape, with shows this month at the Triple Rock and Shuga Records in Minneapolis. Download You Can’t Make a Ghost Without Its Sheet at prgrphs.com. The EP is free in exchange for a donation towards the band’s next record. Limited edition, hand-packaged copies will be available at live shows. More information can be found HERE.
03/09/2010 17:02:46 ♥ lara (
/lara206.vox.com) ♥ prgrphs ♥ myspc ♥ twttr
