A bit too polished for bedroom pop, yet, still fragile and personal, the work of San Francisco songwriter Jason Quever, is a study in subtle and sleek songcraft. Songs like “Future Primitive,” with its careful chord progressions and strategic use of echo, hearken back to the days of The British invasion and The Zombies, embracing the simple pleasures of pop, while simultaneously taking it into a darker, isolated place. While “You Can Have What You Want,” its title a play on the classic Stones song, “You Can’t Always Have What You Want,” may spark more recent comparisons, like a happier, fitter, more productive Elliott Smith. Common to both tracks, is Quever’s relaxed, practically nonchalant vocal style, one which smooths out the rough times, and grounds the ecstatic ones in reality.
MP3: Papercuts – Future Primitive
MP3: Papercuts – You Can Have What You Want
P4KTV: Papercuts – Future Primitive
You Can Have What You Want is out now on Gnomonsong Records. Papercuts will be in Cleveland this weekend for a show at the Grog Shop with Vetiver and Expecting Rain on Sunday, May 10th.
