Papermoons are Austin-based duo Matt Clark (vocals, guitar, pedal bass) and Daniel Hawkins (drums, vocals).
This is their second album, four years on from New Tales.
Matt Clark explains the reason for the delay in completing a follow up: "Since the release of our debut Daniel and I went through some pretty big life changes: marriage, moving, finishing school.".
The press release talks of Simon & Garfunkel-esque harmonies but they remind me more of Grandaddy-esque hipster cool than Paul and Art.
The pleasantly melodic, mid-tempo pop songs draw from personal stories in which emotional undercurrents of sadness and hope are evoked through metaphors of day versus night or swimming versus sinking. We find the duo "lost in the dark" on Pining and desperately "treading water" on Deep Blue.
Making and maintaining connections is a recurrent theme where the emphasis on open and honest communication is particularly strong. For instance, words have to be spat out on Oh My God and remain stuck on the tongue on Heart / Brain.
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Arm's Length seems to refer to what happens when this communication stalls: "you put me down when you said you'd pick me up".
Lungs, the six minute closing track and album highlight is the summation of this striving for a new balance: "from dark to bright we'll gain our sight and move along".
Daniel Hawkins says: " We strive to make music that can both cheer someone up and also console" and , all things considered, this mission is accomplished.
Papermoons' website
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