Album Review: Alice Phoebe Lou Builds Paper Castles

For many, building a relationship is like building a paper castle; for however beautiful and elaborate it is, it feels breakable. Its material leaves it open to tear, and you fear there might not be enough glue/love to patch it up. With her forthcoming album, Paper Castles, Alice Phoebe Lou has created an album that shows the magic of creating a romantic, “paper castle” and the stress of knowing it can be torn.

The minute you begin something, you, automatically, sign up for its ending. NOTHING lasts forever, which is why love is so powerful; it feels eternal even though it is temporary. Everything in life is timed, and tracks like, “Galaxies,” “Ocean,” and “Nostalgia” approach time like a mortal enemy to love’s immortality. Yet, in an odd way, it makes her powerful. From “Little Spark” to “My Outside,” Alice approaches lyrics like they are the poetic markings of memories. To her, a verse is an opportunity to take the defining moments of your life and drape them in a fantasy that either makes them more beautiful or, when traumatic, more understandable. 

Ethereal is one word often used to describe Alice Phoebe Lou, the ex fire dancer turned songwriter, but her celestial soundscapes are with reason. For Alice, music is like sugar for your soul; it helps make it sweeter. Hence, songs such as, “Skin Crawl,” “Something Holy,” and “Fynbos” have her arranging melodies as if they were sugar clouds hazing over her thoughts to make even the ugliest one become more digestible. I LOVE this artistic move because it is a very human one. Memory is a funny thing because time alters its preciseness, but it is not, solely, because your mind grows old as much as your soul grows up. 

The things that once hurt you don’t, and the people you once loved are gone, which is why Paper Castles is sonically and vocally dreamy; it embraces moving on from one paper castle to another. Fortunately, Alice has a voice that feels like a romantic language in and of itself. She could even be aligned with French or Spanish as words we utter to feel revived.Thus, she annotates her notes to feel light and spellbound; as if her own misting. are misting over them. For More Information On Alice Phoebe Lou And To Buy Her Album On March 8 Click Here