Papercuts
Encyclopedia
Papercuts is an American indie pop
project centered around Jason Robert Quever.
, Beach House
, Camera Obscura
and Vetiver
.
Quever was born in Arcata, California and moved to the bay area during grade school, living in various places until settling in San Francisco. Quever's first work as a engineer/producer was Cass Mccomb's Not The Way ep (4AD). Since then he has recorded bands at his own studio including Mccombs, Port O'Brien
, Beach House, Casiotone for the Painfully Alone
, The Skygreen Leopards, Still Flyin' and others as well as Papercuts albums.
Quever has his own home studio, which he calls the "Pan American Recording Studio", where he has recorded or mixed work by local artists including Vetiver, Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, the Skygreen Leopards, the Finches, the Moore Brothers, and Still Flyin'.
He cites among his influences and inspirations Django Reinhardt
, Nirvana
and the original The Twilight Zone
TV series.
Papercuts recently covered Don Henley
's "Boys Of Summer" for American Laundromat Records
charity CD "Sing Me To Sleep - Indie Lullabies" The CD will be released worldwide on May 18, 2010.
artists such as Devendra Banhart
. the song 'chills' is a direct homage to the new zealand band of that name.
In a 2007 live review in the New York Times, Jon Pareles described the band: "Melding sustained organ chords with slow fingerpicked guitar, the Papercuts’ music merged Velvet Underground ballads with touches of the Byrds, while Jason Quever sang in a high, diffident voice about elusive love." A PopMatters
review described Papercuts as "a marching band on Quaaludes" and "part atmospheric, part dream pop rock, always melodic, and never boring". A Houston Press
review of Can't Go Back described the album as having a "warm, sunny sound, recalling northern California circa 1968", going on to describe the band as "a lo-fi version of The Byrds
".
Indie pop
Indie pop is a genre of alternative rock music that originated in the United Kingdom in the mid 1980s, with its roots in the Scottish post-punk bands on the Postcard Records label in the early '80s, such as Orange Juice, Josef K and Aztec Camera, and the dominant UK independent band of the mid...
project centered around Jason Robert Quever.
History
Papercuts is the musical project of San Francisco songwriter/producer Jason Quever. Quever had been making home recordings since high school, but the first official release as Papercuts was 2004's Mockingbird (on Oaklands Antenna Farm Records). 2007's Can't Go Back (8.3 Pitchfork) and 2009's you Can Have What You Want (4 stars/MOJO) were released on Gnomonsong records, the in-house label of San Francisco's Revolver distribution. In 2010 Papercuts signed with Sub Pop records, who will be releasing the next Papercuts album in spring 2011. Quever is the only permanent member of Papercuts, early on playing with whoever of his friends were available. Bay area artist/filmmaker Davis Enos has been the longest standing collaborator (keys), while Frankie Koeller (bass) and Graham Hill (drums) have been regular members of the group since 2008, when the band started touring more regularly. The bands that Papercuts have toured with include Grizzly BearGrizzly Bear (band)
Grizzly Bear is a Brooklyn-based indie rock band, composed of Edward Droste , Daniel Rossen , Chris Taylor and Christopher Bear . The band employs traditional and electronic instruments...
, Beach House
Beach House
Beach House is a dream pop duo formed in 2004 in Baltimore, Maryland, consisting of French-born Victoria Legrand and Baltimore native Alex Scally. Their self-titled debut, Beach House, released in 2006, was critically acclaimed. This was followed by their second release, Devotion, in 2008...
, Camera Obscura
Camera Obscura (band)
Camera Obscura are an indie pop band from Glasgow, Scotland. The band formed in 1996 and have released four albums to date.-History:Camera Obscura were formed in 1996 by Tracyanne Campbell, John Henderson, and Gavin Dunbar. Several other members performed with the band before David Skirving joined...
and Vetiver
Vetiver (band)
Vetiver are an American folk band headed by songwriter Andy Cabic.- History :Cabic was a member of the Greensboro, North Carolina indie rock band The Raymond Brake who released some records on the now defunct Simple Machines label. He formed Vetiver after moving to San Francisco. The band...
.
Quever was born in Arcata, California and moved to the bay area during grade school, living in various places until settling in San Francisco. Quever's first work as a engineer/producer was Cass Mccomb's Not The Way ep (4AD). Since then he has recorded bands at his own studio including Mccombs, Port O'Brien
Port O'Brien
Port O'Brien are an American musical group combining elements of acoustic, folk and indie rock.They are named after a bay in Alaska featuring a now-abandoned cannery on Kodiak Island where founder member Van Pierszalowski's parents met...
, Beach House, Casiotone for the Painfully Alone
Casiotone for the Painfully Alone
Casiotone for the Painfully Alone was the musical solo-project of musician Owen Ashworth of Redwood City, California.-History:Ashworth started CFTPA after he dropped out of film school in 1997...
, The Skygreen Leopards, Still Flyin' and others as well as Papercuts albums.
Quever has his own home studio, which he calls the "Pan American Recording Studio", where he has recorded or mixed work by local artists including Vetiver, Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, the Skygreen Leopards, the Finches, the Moore Brothers, and Still Flyin'.
He cites among his influences and inspirations Django Reinhardt
Django Reinhardt
Django Reinhardt was a pioneering virtuoso jazz guitarist and composer who invented an entirely new style of jazz guitar technique that has since become a living musical tradition within French gypsy culture...
, Nirvana
Nirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
and the original The Twilight Zone
The Twilight Zone
The Twilight Zone is an American television anthology series created by Rod Serling. Each episode is a mixture of self-contained drama, psychological thriller, fantasy, science fiction, suspense, or horror, often concluding with a macabre or unexpected twist...
TV series.
Papercuts recently covered Don Henley
Don Henley
Donald Hugh "Don" Henley is an American singer, songwriter and drummer, best known as a founding member of the Eagles before launching a successful solo career. Henley was the drummer and lead vocalist for the Eagles from 1971–1980, when the band broke up...
's "Boys Of Summer" for American Laundromat Records
American Laundromat Records
American Laundromat Records is an indie label based in Mystic, CT.The label has produced several tribute albums, including Dig For Fire - a tribute to PIXIES, Cinnamon Girl - Women Artists Cover Neil Young, and High School Reunion - A Tribute to Those Great 80's Films...
charity CD "Sing Me To Sleep - Indie Lullabies" The CD will be released worldwide on May 18, 2010.
Musical style
The Papercuts sound is generally classified as indie pop, with comparisons also being made to freak folkFreak folk
Freak folk is a genre of folk music associated with contemporary artists such as Faun Fables, Animal Collective, Davenport, Devendra Banhart,CocoRosie, Panda Bear, Kelli Ali, Joanna Newsom, Bowerbirds, Woods, Greg Weeks, Hecuba, Akron/Family, Rio en Medio, Birdengine, Sufjan Stevens, Sean Hayes,...
artists such as Devendra Banhart
Devendra Banhart
Devendra Obi Banhart is a singer-songwriter and visual artist. Banhart was born in Houston, Texas and was raised by his mother in Venezuela, until he moved to California as a teenager. He began to study at the San Francisco Art Institute in 1998, but dropped out to perform music in Europe, San...
. the song 'chills' is a direct homage to the new zealand band of that name.
In a 2007 live review in the New York Times, Jon Pareles described the band: "Melding sustained organ chords with slow fingerpicked guitar, the Papercuts’ music merged Velvet Underground ballads with touches of the Byrds, while Jason Quever sang in a high, diffident voice about elusive love." A PopMatters
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
review described Papercuts as "a marching band on Quaaludes" and "part atmospheric, part dream pop rock, always melodic, and never boring". A Houston Press
Houston Press
The Houston Press is an alternative weekly newspaper published in Houston, Texas, United States. It is headquartered in Downtown Houston....
review of Can't Go Back described the album as having a "warm, sunny sound, recalling northern California circa 1968", going on to describe the band as "a lo-fi version of The Byrds
The Byrds
The Byrds were an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1964. The band underwent multiple line-up changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn remaining the sole consistent member until the group disbanded in 1973...
".
Albums
- 2000 - Rejoicing Songs (Cassingle USA)
- 2004 - Mockingbird (Antenna Farm)
- 2007 - Can't Go Back (GnomonsongGnomonsongGnomonsong is a record label formed by Devendra Banhart and Andy Cabic in partnership with Revolver USA. Banhart and Cabic do not deal with the business aspect of the label as much as work with the artists....
) - 2009 - You Can Have What You Want (GnomonsongGnomonsongGnomonsong is a record label formed by Devendra Banhart and Andy Cabic in partnership with Revolver USA. Banhart and Cabic do not deal with the business aspect of the label as much as work with the artists....
) - 2011 - Fading ParadeFading ParadeFading Parade is the fourth album from Papercuts.-Track listing:All songs written and composed by Jason Robert Quever, except "Do You Really Wanna Know" composed by Quever and Donovan Quinn.#"Do You Really Wanna Know" – 3:14#"Do What You Will" – 3:41...
(Sub PopSub PopSub Pop is a record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman in Seattle, Washington. Sub Pop achieved fame in the late 1980s for first signing Nirvana, Soundgarden, Mudhoney and many other bands from the Seattle music scene...
)