PURE M Magazine
46
Paper Deer
Fabled Album Review
I
By Tipsyonturtlesoup
suppose reviewing something in many cases forces you
to overcome your own pre-conceptions, or it didn’t it
would be a rather fruitless enterprise. To be honest when
I initially skim read the brief on this article I was
expecting (hoping) for something bleak and desolate. It would
have suited the low pace of this snowy week.
When I initially gave Paper Deer a listen it was while freezing
to death on my bike and I almost denounced the whole lot as
Europop in disgust…… I apologize.
Paper Deer are from Copenhagen and Budapest, I believe they
began as a two piece later joining with a female vocalist. They
describe their music as experimental, which is certainly
demonstrated in the range of styles covered throughout the
composition as a whole. I suppose the variety explored by the
outfit leads to a rather fractured album, although do not take
this as a negative point. Almost all, but a select few, gems
remain clean of this taint; and the nostalgic ones that you hold
onto most definitely deserve an honest re-listen. Paper Deer do
push it out there and it is experimentation and the work of other
DJs altering these compositions which leads to the evolution
of the movement as a whole.
I suppose now that my insane rant is over I should perhaps
turn to the music itself. It begins in an almost Balearic fashion
with a touch of sparseness which is abruptly, and unfortunately,
cut short. The track is primarily focused on the vocal which fits
well and adds an almost ethereal edge at points.
Track two is a surprise, grimey vocal with a funky bouncy
bassline. My only criticism is the complete reliance on the MC.
I mean sometimes an MC can own a tune, take it to another
level. Here however an extended instrumental break would
have been welcome. It does, still, almost remind me of Kraak
and Smaak’s bouncy moments, definitely had fun washing the
dishes listening to this.
I’m not a big fan of the MC work in the next track at all
although; it is certainly a personal preference and could
envisage it raising many rafters pretty soon (It does have the
banging tunes buzz by numbers thing down, it just rings a bit
hollow to me, particularly when compared to the track which
proceeded it)
The following tracks, although containing promising
elements, fail to expand on them really. Both in essence
beginning to build rather pleasantly only to go nowhere, much
like walking up a steep hill only to find an Aldi which had
closed a half hour before.
‘Dawn ‘: This one really sounded promising, I was rather
disappointed. I think perhaps as a thirty year old fella I find it
hard to connect to vocal led house, unless of c