The Papercuts - Can't Go Back
Release Date: 13 February 2007 (Gnomonsong)
Can’t Go Back is the third album by The Papercuts, a band that is fronted by Jason Quever. Recorded at his Pan American Recording Studio in San Francisco, the album has a wall of sound that subtly evokes everything from The Zombies to Wilco.
Dear Employee (mp3) | John Brown (mp3) | Summer Long (mp3)
Emily wanted a change. She had lived in San Francisco all of her life. While many people were envious of her upbringing, she wanted to move. After breaking up with the man she’s been seeing for the past five years, she put an ad in the London Times that read “Trade my 2-bedroom apartment in San Francisco for your 2-bedroom flat in Central London.” After a month or two of emails, she was able to find the best Londoner with whom to exchange subleases.
After making the move, Emily went into Piccadilly Records, an independent store in Manchester. They were playing Can’t Go Back by The Papercuts, from her hometown. She was from San Francisco, but wouldn’t this band from the same city until she transported her life to another country. She was immediately captivated by the sound of the album. The LP was recorded on two-inch tape with a substantial amount of tube gear (tube mics, pre-amps, compressors, etc.) and the warmth was immediately noticeable.
When she entered the store, they had already played the first few songs. The chorus to “Summer Long” was her initial auditory nibble. Like many of the songs on this album, the drums were punctuated with beating toms and the instrumentation was coated with an abundance of pianos, organs, and guitars.
Once “Unavailable” came on, Emily had to ask the store worker what album was playing. The countermelodies produced by the acoustic guitars and Wurlitzer made a tremendously serene bed for the subdued and relaxed vocals. After a messy breakup back in San Francisco, Emily ironically related to the blasé manner in which Jason Quever sang “He’s unavailable to you now.”
Finding out the title to the album, she thought about the path that brought her to England. While she could always go back to California, she didn’t want to live in the past. In that respect, she couldn’t go back. But she accepted that what had brought her to the present. The music represented the same concept. It wasn’t a copy of the great music of the past, but it was an amalgamation of the past fifty years of music.
As much as a testament to the chronicle of popular music, this album was a mixture of Emily’s new and old home. The influences are the history of California county influenced music (from The Byrds to Beechwood Sparks) and English layered pop (from the Beatles to Coldplay). Mix these stimuli with Bob Dylan and The Band to create the overall sound of Can’t Go Back.
“Take the 227th Exit” sounded like a fusion of The White Album and Blonde On Blonde. The rollicking piano drove the song. The vocals sounded like Lennon singing Dylan lyrics. Emily was convinced she had to buy the album.
When she got back to her new flat and listened to the beginning of the album she became more engrossed with Can’t Go Back. “Dear Employee” had an ample sounding cello mixed with strings, electric guitars, and tom heavy drums. The nasty breakup that Emily was recovering from, the initial reason she was prompted to move far away from the Bay area, was with her former boss. He was married and she thought he would leave his wife for her. But eventually, like this first track from Can’t Go Back, she was told “Bring me my paper/ Bring me my coffee/ Pick up your check and go/ You’re just my employee now.”
“John Brown” was mixed like a 60’s psychedelic folk song. The drums were placed in the right speaker while the shuffling violin and weighty bass line were put in the left. The song bounced its way through a verse-chorus structure until it hit its moment of greatness. A little past the halfway mark of the track, the tempo and feel of the song shifted. It picked up and a dark mood took over the song.
Emily has been listening to this album consistently for the past two weeks. It has become the soundtrack for her move and the bridge between the cultures of San Francisco and London.
www.gnomonsong.com/papercuts
www.myspace.com/thepapercuts
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