Paul Melancon
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Paul Melancon

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""...in a category with the most talented of indie-pop singer-songwriters.""

Camera Obscura is the melancholy second solo album from the former lead singer of Atlanta power-pop band Radiant City. Paul Melancon's tales of lost love and disillusionment are spread loosely across an amusement park/circus motif, with songs like "Overture," "Entr'acte," and "Fine" tying together the story of a man whose unspoken love for an absent woman ultimately results in arson and suicide. For such heavy-handed subject matter, Melancon has created a surprisingly upbeat album in the vein of the Posies or Elvis Costello; his is the kind of pop that's not afraid to use more than three chords, and complex ones at that, leaving the listener humming along to a beautiful simple melody.

Melancon's songwriting is best on upbeat numbers like the bouncy "King Sham" and "Jeff Lynne," which musically and lyrically nods to the E.L.O. frontman himself. The soaring "Hey, California" takes its place among the best anthemic pop tunes, and "Little Plum" recalls the brooding chamber-pop of Rufus Wainwright. Throughout Camera Obscura, Melancon manages to compress an obviously huge catalogue of influences into a tight album that places him in a category with the most talented of indie-pop singer-songwriters.
--Joel Hartse - Paste Magazine


""...a seriously strong, multi-layered pop record.""

If you've picked up International Pop Overthrow, Vol. 5 (and if you haven't, you really should), you've probably already heard Paul Melancon's tribute to ELO's main man, appropriately entitled "Jeff Lynne." That song also appears on Camera Obscura, Melancon's new album, which, after a few good listens to let it sink in, begins to reveal itself as a seriously strong, multi-layered pop record. Reminiscent of Matthew Sweet's In Reverse with hints of David Mead, Michael Penn, and, sure, let's make the obligatory reference to Jellyfish; it's certainly apt in places, particularly on the sparkling production. This purported concept album (centered around a fictional amusement park; I'm not sure exactly how Jeff Lynne fits in there) shows that Melancon's ready to play with the big boys. P.S. It's not listed, but be sure to stay tuned for track 11, a loving cover of the Beach Boys' "You're So Good To Me."
--Wm. Harris - Amplifier


Discography

Hopeful Monsters (2005 - Daemon Records)
Camera Obscura (2002 - Daemon Records)
Slumberland (2000 - M Records)

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Bio

Paul Melançon plays music. He writes depressing songs that sound upbeat, and upbeat songs that sound depressing. He has been graced with an unusually gifted voice, and a knack for writing well-crafted pop songs with disturbed and defective characters hidden inside. His tools are the bittersweet melody, lyrical depth, and sardonic wit found in fellow artists such as Michael Penn, Neil Finn and Elvis Costello. When whipped into a frenzy, he can shake and pop like a drunk Nick Lowe.

He's released three critically acclaimed CDs: Two solo (Slumberland on M Records and Camera Obscura on Daemon Records) and one with the Arts and Sciences (Hopeful Monsters, also on Daemon). He's toured with the Indigo Girls, played International Pop Overthrow (LA, Boston and Atlanta) and appeared at SXSW.

He feels really strange writing about himself in the third person.