PAPER CHASE – now you are one of us

(doubly vinyl on Trost, CD on KillRockStars)

Right from the beginning the main ingredients of what makes up the fascination for the Paper Chase is pushed to high stays there for the rest of the record. These are pounding, heavy drums, the mainline piano, an overflowing drama and air of theatralic antics and finally those stories of everyday psychosis in the modern, urban civilisation. Uops, that descrption works for the Dresden Dolls as well! Did I ever mention that, embarassing or not, I rather like the Dresden Dolls? Doesn’t mean a thing in this context though, because in comparison to the short epics of psyhological dramas that John Congleton conjures up, the Dolls sound mainstream straightforward. In dynamics and dense arrangements The Paper Chase is closer to Neurosis at “Souls at Zero” (another masterpiece waiting for the best record of all times entry) than to the weird tales of the extra on the earache roster. Here we get intense and dense doses of pychopathological sickbed stories poured into rock music.

Tick off the titles of the tracks as they appear – “it’s out there and it’s gonna get you”, “we know where you sleep”, “the kids will grow up to be assholes”, “wait until I get my hands on you”, and so on – and you’ll get a first glimpse of the amount of paranoia we are dealing with here. And then remember: just because you are paranoid, doesn’t mean they won’t get you in the end. A big load of disturbing thoughts and insights into disturbed minds, into mayhem and bursts of mental illnesses, that renders 99 % of metal-lyrics effectless teenager’s poetry. Congleton draws inspirations from all sources: rock history („the kids …“), fairy tales (little piggies and in the oven you go), literature and cinematography (just see what he calls his band), serial killers and other urban mythology, and whatever else a suburban teenager with overwhelming existential angst needs to get ahead in life. And then some. Literally, these lyrics are dense and ripe with allusions and excursions. This would be a fine place to start a rant about how it is always the better off kids that turn to the dark sides of life before turning back to pink polo shirts and well paid jobs in administrational management, while those with real problems turn to gangsta rap and booty r’n’b before wasting their lifes away in a stupor of cheap alcohol, cheap stimulation via tv and sordid families in community projects. But not this time, because in effect Paper Chase’s mixture of the music, the images and the atmosphere is to high on impact and too encompassing even for an old cynic like me to burden a review with easy tactics such as these.

Musical “now you are one of us” also convinces with intensity, but also with lots of variety within the basic dynamic structures. Meaning the songs always build up to a musical culmination point, where Congleton’s voice seems to topple itself, all instruments are pounding away and the audience sways along with eyes closed and fists clenched in their pockets. No cathartic experience per se but probably a relief by being overwhelmed with a feeling everybody knows – of being just a pawn in somebody’s game – only a hundred times more intense yet still as diffuse as ever. Compared to the first two albums there is a trend towards clarity and more theatrality, especially with the vocal samples, which works well toward strengthening the estranging effect. Sometimes even falling into a unique noise-funk (“bit too long to communicate the message ‘I own you’”), even if broken up every once in a while. This record demands attention as soon as it hits the turntable.

One last thing: I am sure I used that picture on the cover years ago to illustrate some part of Cracked when it was still a printed on real paper zine. It is a great picture nevertheless. Thank god the soccer world cup is almost over.