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Album review: THE BLOW, 'Paper Television' By Lorese Vera December 2006
Paper Television the recent album from THE BLOW really grows on you. At the first hearing the unusual percussive sound grabbed my attention so much that I had trouble hearing the lyrics. At the second hearing however, the lyrics really settled into place. Fronted by Jona Bechtolt and Khaela Maricich, their very original sound reminded me of the Aussie band Frente with the samefreshness that Frente had when they first burst onto the Australian scene. This band makes no attempt (thank God) to sound like anything out of the USA. It is no pastiche of synthesised sound but raw, punchy, sparse, and sophisticated. When synthesised sound is used, it has an old fashioned funky sound reminiscent of the Moog. I could not identify the instrument but it sounds old which only adds to the eccentricity of the innovative sound of the album. The clear articulated vocals of Khaela Maricich were sweet and effortless, her sound very reminiscent of Angie Hart especially in ‘Babay’ which is an eccentric love-gone-wrong number. The spurned one is not just shat upon, but is eaten alive and comes out the other end steaming! The incredible drumming is as raw as it comes. The drums don’t merely accompany the vocals but are an integral part of the sound; the vocals and drums weave in and out of each other in counterpoint particularly on the track ‘The Long List of Girls’. The drumming is so clearly articulated that you can pick out the individual drum being played, hear the sticks on the drum rim, and military tattoo beats; very unusual in pop music. The whole album is marked by a clarity and freshness. An album to suit all tastes, it could sit as well at the pub on Sunday afternoon as it could as mum’s CD in the car. |
