Glaswegian folk duo The Paperback Throne is branching out on their album Waves. Sylvia Hector and Ralph Hector have kept the core of acoustic instruments and shared vocals, but they are not purists. If a track needs a synth or electric guitar to fully blossom, so be it. Some of the tracks have been lying the house around for years, patiently awaiting completion. Kicking off with one of those- the soft-spoken Branches - they set the tone for nearly half an hour of carefully crafted tracks. The influence of Harry Nilsson,one of their all-time heroes is mirrored in the vocals and '70s orchestral pop arrangement for Inside Every Mountain There's A Heart.
The Hectors' expanded musical palette comes to the fore with the psychedelic keyboard parts CTRL+Z - nice touch repeating some of the motifs to underline the message of wishing "to undo" some things in life, and the shoegazey bass in No Obvious Symbolism. As with all folk music the words are as equally important - or even more so - as the music. Most of the lyrics are pretty straightforward, but there is poetry bubbling under the surface. Case in point the piano ballad Misappropriate: "Hold your tongue, and keep your questions // Repeat the words, just change inflection // Keep it hid, play along, cos that’s the way".
Wrapping things up with the instrumental title track - actual sea sounds included - sends the listener off to a vantage point overlooking the North Berwick shoreline. Waves is a gem waiting to be discovered and cherished.
Waves is released via Iffy Folk Records.
Tracks:- Branches
- Inside Every Mountain There's A Heart
- Blood Drawn
- CTRL+Z
- Spaces
- The Guest House
- No Obvious Symbolism
- Hidden Track
- Misappropriate
- Waves
