Papercuts (Podcast #168)
June 16, 2009
Stream the episode:
This week’s podcast profiles Papercuts, the indie rock-pop band led by San Franciscan Jason Quever. The band’s released a series of well-received albums, culminating with 2007′s Can’t Go Back and, this April, You Can Have What You Want, both on Andy Cabic and Devendra Banhart’s Gnomonsong label. Quever’s collaborated with Cabic’s band Vetiver before, and he’s been involved in recording and producing a wide variety of projects in his Pan American Recording Studio, including locals like Still Flyin’, Donovan Quinn and Skygreen Leopards. Having your own home analog studio means you can take the time to perfect a warm, vintage-referencing sound, so it’s little surprise that You Can Have What You Want expertly sculpts nostalgic California pop into something thoroughly modern.
You Can Have What You Want is definitely a shift for Papercuts, but it’s not out of left field. After Can’t Go Back, Quever found himself moving past that album’s Byrdsian folk-rock, more interested instead in embracing the dreamy-pop sounds that has long touched his works. With the new album, the warm haze is planted front and center, with Quever’s vocals resting atop gorgeous layers of warm keyboards, an aesthetic likely influenced by Alex Scally’s (Beach House) involvement in the studio. As discussed in the interview, Scally’s role was hard to define, but it’s notable as the first time Quever’s had a collaborator so involved in Papercuts’ sound. Where Papercuts go next is anyone’s guess, but You Can Have What You Want is an affecting work from this talented band.
We sat down with Jason at The Bay Bridged Studio recently to discuss the band’s early days and the new album. We’ve included four Papercuts songs in the episode.
Upcoming Shows:
Thursday, June 25th
The Independent
with Port O’Brien and Still Flyin’
8pm, $13/$15
Links:
- Visit Papercuts on MySpace
- Check out a studio session featuring Papercuts at The Needle Drop
- Purchase You Can Have What You Want and Papercuts’ other albums from Gnomonsong and on iTunes
- Check out the video from “Future Primitive”
I really like their mellow sound…
I saw this group at Amoeba for free this past Saturday and I have to say it was extremely boring, it all kind of sounded the same, it was nothing special, like Death Cab For Cutie except a little more boring. I don’t understand what Devendra/Andy see in this project. I guess they’re just good buds or something.
Matt: you are an idiot. Not only do Papercuts sound nothing like Death Cab, but your “insight” regarding what Devendra and Andy see in the band is hilariously (?) wrong.