Papertrail

"Entitled In My Veins, the record is a quick combo of rock jabs, pop hooks and somewhat poignant lyrical uppercuts."

"Papertrail seem to have found balance in all applications of their music. While their lyrics are definitive to make sense, they are also colourful enough to ignite one's imagination, and, similarly, while their music is rockin' enough to have a bit of bite it is also poppy enough to kiss it better afterwards."

01/03/07 - X-Press Magazine, Perth

PAPERTRAIL REVEAL THEIR KINSHIP WITH WARM FUZZY FEELINGS TO MATTHEW HOGAN

Acoustic pop-rockers Papertrail are all set to release their debut EP ¬In My Veins this week and bassist Paul Speering is happy with the fact that all the band’s hard work is finally beginning to pay off. The band formed two years ago when uni-mates Paul Petropulos on vocals and guitar and fellow guitarist Jason Chin recruited Speering onto bass duties and, after a recent period as an acoustic trio following the departure of the old skinsman, completed by the appointment Luis Burrows behind the drum kit. So with a new line-up, the band is ready to turn some heads with the recently completed EP. “We recorded it in two stages,” Speero begins about In My Veins. “It’s a half a do-it-yourself job and half of it was done in the studio. Late last year we did some recording with Brandon from Distillery Studios and we tracked a few songs there and then after that we started doing some recording at home. We all recorded onto our computers and did all the mixing and stuff ourselves. It’s a pretty stressful process. It’s very time consuming and the band has to agree on all the little things but you do get a good level of control and you end up getting what you want. You can really try a lot of things and you don’t have to worry about paying someone by the hour to try them. I found it to be quite a really good learning experience. You spend a lot more time getting what you want with the do it yourself style. We’re pretty happy with the end product.”

Down time following recent Speero surgery has allowed the bassman to focus what seems like the entirety of his time into putting on the ensuing CD launch featuring supports Spoonful, Chelsea Lights and Love You Not in their own acoustic mode this Saturday at the Rosemount, a process that has been helped along with the confirmation of the RTRfm Fresh Blast grant. “The actual Fresh Blast package is a pretty awesome thing,” Speering says. “We put the submission in and we said we’ll see how it goes and we won’t hold our breath, but then I got an email from Peter Barr just over a week ago saying we were successful and that changed things, we were able to do a few more things and get to change our posters as well. We think it’s a great opportunity to get our music to a wider audience. It’s huge for a band like us who don’t have a huge budget, now we don’t have to worry where the money’s coming from. We can just go out and play our music which is what it should all be about really.”

Playing their music is what it is all about, and Speering says that sometimes he gets a bit excited when spreading the word. “We were playing a The Castle one night and I sometimes get a bit dramatic and start jumping around the stage,” he reveals. “Not that our music lends itself to that sort of thing, but I proceeded to kick the acoustic guitarists lead out of the amp, not once but twice during the same song. Also when we were playing the Cockburn City Band Competition in January last year, my amp decided to expire halfway through the last song, I just picked up the drum shaker and continued on and finished the song and we got a rather rapturous round of applause from the audience which was really cool and we ended up winning the crowd prize. And anytime someone will come up to you after a show and say that they liked it, it gives you a warm fuzzy feeling inside.”

01/03/07 - Drum Media, Perth

Papertrail released their debut EP last week and its an effort well worth a listen. 'Throw Me A Line' is a solid pop/rock song and 'Walking In My Sleep' is a positively upbeat number. The professionally recorded tracks 'Sinking Ships' and 'Pea In A Pod' don't sound any different in quality than the home-recorded ones. But, songwise, 'Sinking Ships' is the best track on the disc, it exemplifies the four-piece's knack for penning strong melodies and writing good lyrics, despite the depressing subject matter. Keep and eye out for future Papertrail material, I say.

08/03/07 - Drum Media, Perth