Paper Route EP is crafty
Posted by Jon Chattman on July 24th, 2008
Paper Route’s third EP, Are We All Forgotten, shows the band still at work crafting intelligent indie synth-pop that will no doubt continue to draw comparisons The Postal Service’s music. But while the two bands sound somewhat similar, Paper Route has clearly marked out a territory of its own within its genre. High energy without being overly peppy, Paper Route is excellent at mixing pathos with a confident performance. This performance highlights the band’s clear-voiced vocals and showcases its unique brand of music in a way that relegates the electronica influence to the background and places the band’s actual playing in the forefront. Lyrically earnest, these guys not afraid to also be clever, including a generous number of double meanings and word play in their songs. Even on such a short disc, there are some standout tracks. “Are We All Forgotten” and “You Kill Me” both show up the songs the come before them, while “Waiting for the Final Leaf to Fall,” the closing track, is probably the EP’s weakest song. But even with this slight unevenness, Are We All Forgotten, shows a surprisingly high level of consistency and quality. It’s definitely a worthy addition to this band’s quickly growing catalog.
- Heather Horn-Mitchem