Paper Route release some Real Emotion in a stellar tightrope between synthpop and alternative rock, crafting layered soundscapes enveloped in song form. While the Nashville trio could be described as indie rockers, their distinct vision takes from an expansive selection that focuses on filling the void.
Just take every interjectory moment across the record for example. The “Intro” gets lost in echoing choired vocals to introduce the opening track. A “Blue Collar Daydream” sounds like a hauntingly beautiful call of a whale. “Lara” humorously introduces its following track in even further choired elements. Then “Love Is Red” gets buried in a slew of falsetto and harp strums, half breaking out into endearing song form. These brief clips interspersed across Real Emotion pace the record, as if to settle it once and for all that Paper Route isn’t in any hurry to craft something quite substantial.
Following the intro opening track “Writing On The Wall” is a falsetto force, pointing a blaming finger for the wall tagger in an extended metaphor. While “Pretend” crashes through with soaring melodies on relational struggles, song structure is emphasized heavily bit by bit in what almost sounds formulaic. Lush sounds shimmer through “Chariots” in the art of love and war, which rocks relentlessly though and gets somewhat repetitive towards its ending. Then in a striking departure some heartfelt piano balladry and atmospheric vocals make the “Untitled” track an amazing step forward.
Real Emotion’s midsection carries the strength of the record. The title track alone has potential to catapult the band forward, hosting each of their elements in spades. The stellar “Mona Lisa” feels just like the one you want from Paper Route: catchy lyrics, rhythmic balance, amazing melodies. “Second Place” plays sadly over the life course of the eternal underdog in a restraint of emotions. Then the overly self-conscious “Laugh About It” continues in style as the poor man who looks on jealously at what he doesn’t have.
Anticipation runs high after “Lara” when the following “Zhivago” gets even more quirky, crashing within its indie rock elements, then abruptly ending before it seems to really get started. Angelic vocals, strings and vocals then flood “Bleary” in a hope to wander home. Relational graces plays beautifully in the synth heavy “Balconies” as you try to interpret the meaning behind the metaphor. Sadly “Love Is Red” gets cut quite short, which could have easily been expanded upon. The closing “Vanisher” hangs on a disappearing moment a bit repetitively, though in closing that may have been the point.
Paper Route have something here, and not just because the record is entitled Real Emotion but everything encapsulated within it. The album is a bit long, but only to be distinctly sectioned off in dynamic moments to move from. Some tracks drone on a bit, though perhaps only to indicate their live performances that hang on extended sounds. If anything the record breathes life into stale contemporaries within the genre, or collection of genres if you’re getting picky. Case point: sample Real Emotion and you just might find something real.