Papercuts - Fading Parade

This album should serve as a cautionary tale for bands who might not pay too much attention to the production of their records. They can have all the infectious hooks and jaw-dropping choruses they want, but if it doesn’t sound right, then they’re on to a loser. ‘Fading Parade’ is the textbook example of a rather decent album being smothered - and unfortunately becoming a rather frustrating listen as a result.

Not to say it doesn’t deserve some time, but the overwhelming feeling is that Papercuts really did shoot themselves in the foot with this one. Songs like ‘The Messenger’ are unable to achieve their full potential because they exist only as wisps of sound that seem ready to float away at a moment’s notice. The rhythm section seems as though it is barely there, and Jason Robert Quever’s whisper-soft vocals are rendered near unintelligible by suffocating reverb.

The band’s focus is on atmosphere, but all this does is translate to an omnipresent haziness. ‘Charades’ is a painful reminder of what this album could - should - have been, a song so good that the production is finally able to be overlooked. However, it’s the album closer so it comes much too late in the game to salvage much of anything from this bitterly disappointing record. It’s the sort of album that really puts the ‘dream’ in ‘dream-pop’ - by the time it’s over, all the listener is left with is vague recollections and fragments. Better luck next time.