Concert Review: Paperhaus Sonically Question Surroundings At Elsewhere
Going to see Paperhaus was my first time every journeying to Elsehwhere. The PopGun concert hall is like the physical manifestation of PopGun’s longstanding initiative to house fantastic new artists or extremely creative, dedicated ones that you might not be catching. The point is you are missing the music that might very well speak to you in ways you feel you cannot to speak to yourself. Paperhaus arises to speak loud and clear.
The psych-pop band echoes the initiatives of many of psych-pop’s most popular artists like, Tame Impala, Temples, Grizzly Bear, and even Animal Collective; to confront the anxiety of living through the stress of socializing. From “Go Gozy” to “Nanana”, there is an urgency to their instrumentals that fills rooms like someone threw spiritual dynamite and yelled, “Panic!”. This is not to say their show will make you curl into fetal position, but it will make you think about the many times you have, so that you ask, “Why?”. The reason modern psych-pop has been so powerful and even “cultish” in its following is because artists like, Paperhaus, sonically ask the questions you do not want to confront, i.e. why are you behaving like the the very surroundings you find oppressive. We, literally, tweet about our hatred for social media. We complain about being politically voiceless by not voting, and call out bullies through bullying. Like “ToldYou What To Say”, Paperhaus has seemingly picked up on our social hypocrisies and inability to find new, more elevated responses to the lesser ones that drag us down. Hence, they have mashed soundscape with landscapes to give a music that can easily tour through Millennial concert halls because, frankly, nobody is questioning themselves more than this generation.
There is something “surrounding” or rather engulfing to Paperhaus’ sound that makes you feel like you have entered a supernova of insecurities. Every chord is created pluck at the very face you wear to the world, in exchange, to lyrically release the one you hide. Thus, it helps that Alex Tebleff’s voice and presence is is soft, quiet, and even insular. By using music to emanate the dangerous differences between your public and private face, it helps that the band seemingly appears like private people opening up their inner worlds to the public. It bridges their messages perfectly to their music, and make you wonder why we privately grovel at the world’s devastations but do not do enough to publicly heal them. For More Information On Paperhaus Click Here.
