Papercuts - Albums Collection 2004-2014 (5CD)

×

Papercuts - Albums Collection 2004-2014 (5CD)

Close

Papercuts are a soft indie pop project centered around Jason Robert Quever, who was brought up in a commune in Humboldt County, California. He traveled up and down the West Coast, eventually settling in San Francisco. Quever's work began when he used the apartment of a vacationing friend to record piano tracks for Cass McCombs. He has kept busy since, collaborating with such artists as Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, the Skygreen Leopards, and Vetiver. Two Papercuts albums arrived in the early 2000s: Rejoicing Songs (Cassingle USA) and Mockingbird (Antenna Farm). Can't Go Back was released in February 2007 through Gnomonsong, run by Devendra Banhart and Andy Cabic of Vetiver, and in support of that record, Papercuts toured throughout the U.S. with Grizzly Bear. Although, like many Papercuts releases, 2009's You Can Have What You Want was recorded at Quever's self-built Pan American home studio, this album was perhaps his most collaborative effort to date, with Alex Scally of Beach House not only contributing bass, keyboards, and percussion, but also assisting with string arrangements and session engineering.

Quever and company took an even lusher approach on 2011's Fading Parade, which was the first Papercuts album released by Sub Pop in the U.S. and featured production input from ex-Lilys and Pernice Brothers player Thom Monahan. After this, Quever took a break from the group, but stayed busy by assisting with numerous other musical projects. Both Gold Leaves' 2011 album The Ornament and Dean Wareham's late-2013 Emancipated Hearts benefited from his production skills. The next Papercuts album, Life Among the Savages, was released in May of 2014 for new labels Easy Sound in the U.S. and Memphis Industries in the

Kenyon Hopkin, Allmusic.com

×

Papercuts - Albums Collection 2004-2014 (5CD)

Close

×

Papercuts - Albums Collection 2004-2014 (5CD)

Close

Having already worked with Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, San Francisco's Jason Quever gets his chance at sensitive, romantic indie rock on Mockingbird, the follow-up to 2000's Rejoicing Songs. The Papercuts' songs are seemingly without hurt, yet, like its name implies, reveal something painful. Though the arrangements apply sparse instrumentation, Mockingbird is surprisingly lush, taking advantage of viola and keyboard (the organ in "Poor and Free" is one such highlight.) Quever's gentle falsetto glistens and soothes, even when his vocals are too slurry to understand. When you can make them out, they imply solitude ("I just want some peace and quiet here" he sings in "My Ivory Tower") and poetic ("You're a page inside a book" he explains in "Pan American Blues.") If those lyrics were more decipherable, it might add another layer of emotion. Still, Mockingbird has enough grace to remain heartfelt.

Kenyon Hopkin, Allmusic.com

×

Papercuts - Albums Collection 2004-2014 (5CD)

Close

The brainchild of Jason Quever, Papercuts is a very pleasing, lush and terribly sweet group. A prime example of this is "Dear Employee," which seems to mix the best attributes of Arcade Fire and the Hidden Cameras with the lush, orchestral touches of Smashing Pumpkins circa Disarm. Meanwhile, Quever isn't sticking to one sound or genre judging by the rich and yet at the same time dark Spaghetti Western feel hovering over a sugary "John Brown." However, the key to the song's success is how it switches gears near the homestretch, into a smart Beatlesque pop nugget. Just as precious is the fine "Summer Long" that is led by Quever's innocent yet heart-tugging delivery. Papercuts is quite strong in making the most of a melody, especially on the pretty and tender "Unavailable" with its haunting, distant and at times heady vocals. The oddity or black sheep on the album might be the early Dylan-esque ambling "Take the 227th Exit" which saunters along without much fanfare. Yet things quickly get back on the rails with the country-tinged "Outside Looking In" that is led by some fine harmonies. Everything Papercuts seems to touch turns to gold, even if the title of "Just Another Thing to Dust" would suggest otherwise. Closing with another memorable track, "The World I Love," the album is a perfect example that timeless, classic pop still exists.

Jason MacNeil, Allmusic.com

×

Papercuts - Albums Collection 2004-2014 (5CD)

Close

Papercuts make the kind of albums that are easy to ignore or write off as simple and unchallenging indie pop. The smooth textures and gentle surfaces of the production, the breezy melodies of the songs, and the quiet sweetness of Jason Quever's vocals and lyrics don't overwhelm or stand up and demand attention; instead they kind of seep into the pleasure center of your brain if you want them to. The two albums previous to You Can Have What You Want were bright and sunny, but very calm and almost serene. This record isn't much different – maybe a little more layered and gauzy at times, but still overflowing with pleasant melodies and nice sounds. Quever as always sings the lyrics as if in a dream, drifting over the rich arrangements with a light and feathery touch that brings to mind a collegiate and slightly shaky Colin Blunstone (or a less shaky early Neil Young.) He doesn't bowl you over with emotion but he conveys great feeling in his limited range, and on some of the songs, he comes close to breaking hearts with his boyish sincerity. Other times, he captures the ominous spookiness of the lyrics perfectly with his hushed and near conversational singing. Indeed the album seems to be a concept album about a possibly post-apocalyptic world full of suffering and weirdness, which is quite different from the previous album's subject matter. Quever keeps things pretty obscure and hinted at; he's not beating you over the head with any great statements. Again, he's letting the message sneak into your brain quietly and wrapping it in lovely arrangements that would sound good no matter what he was singing about. In that regard, Papercuts are very much like fellow low-key weirdos Grandaddy and Midlake. You Can Have What You Want falls a little short of the last record, Can't Go Back, just because it isn't as jaunty or light-hearted, but it is still an impressive work that should go a ways in providing some proof that the band has more depth and power than one might have thought if they just stuck to the surface.

Tim Sendra, Allmusic.com

×

Papercuts - Albums Collection 2004-2014 (5CD)

Close

Where Papercuts' previous album You Can Have What You Want was as sleepily intimate as a long winter’s nap, the aptly named Fading Parade is as big and bright and misty as spring kicking in. Main Papercuts man Jason Quever worked with his touring band and producer Thom Monahan on these songs, which are ripe with lush touches like “Do What You Will”'s autoharps and the dense organ melody on “I’ll See You Later I Guess,” a piece of chamber pop that rivals Beach House for baroque moodiness. At times, the very bigness of Fading Parade's sound nearly overwhelms Quever's wisp of a voice, but his songwriting is as strong as ever; “Wait Till I’m Dead” feels like a classic pop song that’s been in hiding for a few decades. Quever also capitalizes on the lessons learned on one of You Can Have What You Want's highlights, the Zombies-meets-Phil Spector gem “Future Primitive.” He expands on this sense of drama throughout Fading Parade, whether it’s the surprising high notes he hits on the bewitching lullaby “Winter Daze” or the way the gorgeous strings of “White Are the Waves” make it sound like the theme song to some long-lost late-‘60s drama. “Chills,” meanwhile, is the psych-pop epic – complete with a Mellotron solo! – that Quever has been threatening to write for years. Despite the album's bigger and brighter approach, Papercuts are still past masters at finding the cloud around the silver lining. The album is bookended by tracks that celebrate the pleasures of love and illusion (the gorgeous “Do You Really Wanna Know”) and waking from those dreams and starting over (“Charades,” on which Quever sings “the visions of the past have gone”), but, as with all Papercuts songs, they take time to reveal themselves fully. Fading Parade might be subtle, but it’s obviously another step forward for Quever and company.

Heather Phares, Allmusic.com

×

Papercuts - Albums Collection 2004-2014 (5CD)

Close

One of the main pleasures of listening to a Papercuts album is the care and feeding the band's chief architect, Jason Quever, puts into the arrangements. His skills at layering sounds and creating dreamily soft atmospheres have not only made his own albums a candy-tasting treat, but also led to him being an in-demand producer. Papercuts' most recent album before this, 2011's Fading Parade, was the group's masterpiece. The aching beauty of the melodies, the shimmering baroque pop feel, and the emotion Quever invested in the songs all came together to create something magical. It would be nice to say 2014's Life Among the Savages continued the trend and built upon the production; instead, Quever pulls back and aims for something more intimate and a little less arranged. That's not to say the album is stark or under-produced, only that there is more space between the instruments and there are moments of quiet calm that put the focus squarely on Quever's vocals. It's a move that could be seen as a disappointment for people who love big, orchestrated albums, but there's a heartfelt honesty to much of Life that is refreshing and the album has just as much emotional impact as anything Papercuts have done. Maybe even more, as Quever's voice and words convey some real pain that's rarely obscured by the music, as it may have been in the past. The slowly unwinding piano ballad "Easter Morning" is probably the best example of this, with Quever sounding fragile and lost as he gently plays the keys. To go along with the unvarnished sadness and midtempo melancholy, there are a few songs that sparkle a little and give the album some balance, like the sweetly jangling "Family Portrait" and the insistent, cello-led "Afterlife Blues." Mostly though, the album is a beautiful downer. It shows that Quever isn't just a sonic magician who can craft pillow-soft dream pop and ornate indie pop; he can also make music that has true intimacy and emotion running through it like an electrical current. Life Among the Savages isn't the easiest Papercuts album to love, but over repeated listens the mood the restrained sound creates and the subtle emotion the songs convey are more than enough to win over anyone who decides to stick with it.

Tim Sendra, Allmusic.com