Despite being from San Francisco, Papercuts have a beach house sound: lo-fi acoustic strumming with over-relaxed vocals and casual rhythms. Northern California might actually have an effect on their music, however, as their songs have slightly more psychosis than the stereotypical sunshine/smile affair. A little disenchantment, a little cautious reserve, and more developed sense of songwriting make Papercuts’ new album, Can’t Go Back much more interesting than the easy-going style it’s born from.
Most of the effort behind Papercuts comes from Jason Quever, who has created an album that could be confused for something out of the ’60s as easily as something from today. The rail-thin vocals and crunchy instrumentation are the major reasons why. Throughout Can’t Go Back, Quever helps justify his nasal voice through a lax tone, post-beatnik but pre-hippie. On "Take the 227th Exit" and "Outside Looking In", a tinny guitar solo harkens back to simple ’60s rock production. "John Brown" even conjures a disenchanted take on an old spaghetti western. Can’t Go On is full of half-baked ballads that are both charming and unmoved at the same time.
As far as songwriting goes, Papercuts have a lot of talent and knack for a solid mix of their lo-fi acoustic romps. They might be a little stuck in their nature, but are damn good at it. Can’t Go On fuses together slices of alt-country, older rock, and California slackerdom, and despite any perceived laziness on their music, they actually seem highly focused. There’s simply nothing on the album they don’t do well.
