The Paula Kelley Orchestra

'The Trouble with Success', far from being the work of someone who has hit a winning streak after years of blundering around in the musical wilderness, is instead the latest in a long line of records from a versatile musician who has created her own place in the world by pushing her own boundaries and limits a little further with each new recording. - Pennyblack Music

Like Tahiti 80, the Divine Comedy, or Belle & Sebastian, it is the same baroque enthusiasm, this exuberance, this flair for playing dense pop music with sugary choruses and radiant melodies which infuses the timeless songs of this Bostonian. - Les Inrockuptibles (France)

By Brett Milano

During the ’60s, it was practically a given that any artist who was serious about writing pop songs had to try his or her hand at an orchestrated concept album. The best of those albums — the Zombies’ Odyssey & Oracle, Love’s Forever Changes, XTC’s latter-day homage Skylarking, and the king of them all, the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds — stand as proof that the essence of a three-minute pop song could be stretched into something more beautiful and meaningful.

Anyone who knows Paula Kelley’s music shouldn’t be surprised that she’s finally gone down that road. Although she was born too late to live in the ’60s, it’s no secret that her heart’s in that decade — she lives for pop, loves Bacharach and the Bee Gees, and often looks as if she’d stepped out of a fashion mag from that era. Since her debut 10 years ago, as a member of the ill-fated major-label band Drop Nineteens, she’s moved steadily away from loud guitars and toward more elegant sounds. Last year on her solo debut, Nothing/Everything, the guitars came down a notch and her gifts for melody and melancholy rose to the surface.

So Kelley is right on schedule with The Trouble with Success, or How You Fit into the World (Kimchee). Like the above-named role models, it’s a beautiful and complex album that draws you in with its subtleties rather than trying to overpower you. Themes are revisited in different songs, and the 22 orchestral players are on equal footing with the band. Kelley’s melancholy side is responsible for the more striking moments; it’s in evidence here as never before, and her voice’s girlishly innocent quality is used to maximum emotional effect. The opening "A New Time" recalls the breezy Bacharach sound of her solo debut. But by the second number, "Could There Be Another World," her voice is soaring over a full string section.

"There’s a harp on that song," Kelley notes over drinks at the Abbey Lounge. "I mean, a harp — how cheesy is that? Then on ‘The Girlfriend,’ there’s a call-and-response thing; the background singers ask me questions and I answer. Even I couldn’t believe I wanted to do something that corny. But that’s the point of not being in a band anymore — I’m free from wondering whether such-and-such is a stupid idea, and I can go with my little quirks and not question them. I don’t even think this is a pop record — pop implies some kind of intent, and this is more like something that came out of my guts. If you like this album, you’d probably like my guts."

Kelley’s always had a likable, self-depreciating streak, and it comes out in the title that she nearly hung on the album: "Some Sucker’s Life." Dropping that title was one way of admitting to herself that she was ready to produce something more serious. "A lot of the songs turned out to be pretty dark," she points out. "The whole album chronicles somebody’s life, somebody who might be me — somebody who gets to notice the grandeur of life before the frustration starts to set in. There’s some religious stuff in there because I was raised with the whole Jesus story — they really know how to get you, those Catholics. In the last song, there’s somebody summarizing their own life and realizing it was a meaningless existence. But then there’s a choir that joins in, lamenting the fact that life is so meaningless, so that could give it the meaning it lacks."

Kelley was processing some shake-ups in her own life while the album was being written. She’d recently gotten married (to her guitarist and musical partner, Aaron Tap), and she was starting to work through some longstanding depression and anxiety — not to mention a history of insomnia (subject of the album’s "Night Racer") and migraines. And though pain never hurt a songwriter, she figured that enough was enough. "I was worried that I’d lose my inspiration if I started to get the depression under control, but as it turned out, things opened right up. A lot of relationships in my life have changed, and I’m learning what’s important and what’s not. So when somebody dies at the end of the album, maybe the old me is dead. I never liked her much anyway."

Writing an album’s worth of orchestrated pop songs is one thing; recording them on an indie-rock budget is quite another. Most of the heavy work was done in a few weekends earlier this year, with Kelley playing a number of keyboards, a bunch of friends pitching in (including former Sub Pop artist Eric Matthews, who played trumpet), and Aaron’s brother Matthew Tap scoring the strings and horns. "I’ve never worked so hard at anything in my life," Kelley admits. "Except when I shoveled shit at a stable in my youth, but I didn’t know what I was doing then." - The Boston Phoenix

The sophomore solo release from indie chanteuse Paula Kelly is a brilliant piece of unpretentious musical magic. Kelly, who played with such bands as the Drop Nineteens, Hot Rod, and Boy Wonder in the '90s, has found a perfect vision of her music in the new millennium. The drop-dead gorgeous young lady ... uses her unique musical ability and terrific arrangements to showcase her memorable tunes. These songs are something of an early-'60s throwback, recalling singers like Melanie and Lulu. The one thing that separates Kelley from nearly every other female singer is her ability to play nearly every instrument on the planet. At any one time on this disc she is playing a harpsichord, various guitars, chamberlain flutes, tambourine, piano, and a Hammond organ. Kelley even put together a rather large orchestra and choir to back her on some of the tunes. Some musicians fail through timidity, bowing to peer pressure and never realizing their true potential. Paula Kelley reaches for the stars with her new album. She winds up creating a disc that sounds as if it were from another planet, if not another (better) universe. - Skratch Magazine

When was the last time you found yourself saying, "Wow, that flugelhorn really accentuates her voice!" after listening to an album?

Paula Kelley's latest musical creation, The Trouble with Success or How You Fit into the World, brilliantly features a big-band style collection of 38 musicians with instruments ranging from the obscure flugelhorn to full woodwind, brass and string sections. Although ample in size, the band plays as merely an enhancement to Kelley's exceptional vocals and lyrics without a hint of being overbearing.

After dabbling in the world of being a lead singer in several different bands, Kelley has finally embarked upon a successful solo career, blessing the indie pop world with her visionary music. Filled with provocative questions from "How many times must I say goodbye before I start believing it for sure?" in "How Many Times" to "Created for your life / Debated in your mind / Could there be another world," in the aptly named "Could There be Another World", The Trouble with Success offers one thought-provoking wonderment after another.

On top of the innovative band style and the creatively alarming lyrics, The Trouble with Success also highlights Kelley's own beautiful voice. With a tiny hint of The Cardigans shining through, Kelley's voice possesses a charming, child-like innocence that enhances the sensation of complex feelings and slight confusion, exhibited especially in "I'd Fall in Love with Anyone".

Paula Kelley's The Trouble with Success or How You Fit into the World is perfect for anyone who has dared to dream, think, ask or wonder - or if you want to hear a flugelhorn. - Score Rocks

Belated better than never!
The hype around musician Paula Kelley lured me to Johnny D’s on May 14 even with a stomach ailment. Alright, well, I’m never really someone to turn down a cocktail either. Anyhow, Kelley is one of those local (Boston) musicians who garner a lot of criticism. But, after catching Kelley’s performance, I realized people are probably jealous of her songwriting ability.

Playing most of the songs off her latest album, The Trouble with Success or How You Fit Into the World, with an orchestra provided a powerful and impressive set.

A breat of fresh Boston air
Kelley is a breath of fresh air in the Boston music, which is often bogged down by shoegazer and indie rock bands. It’s refreshing to hear good pop music—especially live. While Kelley isn’t new to the scene, having played in various bands over the years like Boy Wonder and the Drop Nineteens, this is completely her “own” project.

I can’t help but think that Kelley’s songs are what pop music should sound like. You won’t hear any cheesy drum samples and moaning vocal parts here. Rather Kelley’s sound is reminiscent of good ‘ol 60s pop music like The Beach Boys with layers of different instruments. It isn’t boring. Add Kelley’s unusual sounding vocals—a mix—and you have a stellar set.

Plus, she’s just a classy lady, who doesn’t have to try too hard to keep an audience captivated ... no one took their eyes off of Kelley during her set. There’s no phoniness here and that of itself is a major feat for any Boston musician. - Newmonayeah!