I do not listen to much music from the genre referred to as folk music, but occasionally I do find some artist who will satisfy that part of me deep down inside that yearns to hear a singer-songwriter sit down with nothing but a guitar and some hand-written words and play until they've said what they needed to. My latest find this area is Papercuts, which is led by Jason Quever and creates some of the most easy going, addicting and unoffensive indiefolkpop that I've heard in quite a while. The new album titled Can't Go Back hits the shelves next week (February 13) on Gnomonsong, a new record label formed by Devendra Banhart and Andy Cabic(Vetiver).

Below is a bit of info from the label:

"Papercuts is Jason Quever's cathedral of sound, a place for the desperate worship of all things analog and devotion to the musicianship of the old world. His new album for Gnomonsong, Can't Go Back, is a marriage of timeless songs, richly textured studio sounds, classic rock/pop hookery, and focused narratives -- all delivered with Quever's warm voice and wonderfully layered melodies.

The first formal Papercuts release, Mockingbird (2004), received a warm critical reception, earning four stars in Great Britain's Uncut. The song "Pan American Blues" was a top-five download of the week on insound.com and the album rode the CMJ Top 200 for months."

I have a feeling that this cd will be stuck in my player for a while. This is what good radio stations should sound like. If you use a decent pair of headphones you'll hear all the little stuff, like "double-tracked acoustic guitars and cellos; muted drums and bells; and lilting, reverb-soaked lead vocals."

Papercuts - Take The 227th Exit
Papercuts - Unavailable
Papercuts - John Brown

Hear 30-second MP3 excerpts of the rest of the tracks on Can't Go Back, plus put in an order for a copy of your own at Midheaven. Of course, there's more at MySpace.

Papercuts on tour with Grizzly Bear:

Feb 16 2007 Seattle, Washington
Feb 17 2007 Vancouver, British Columbia
Feb 18 2007 Portland, Oregon
Feb 20 2007 San Francisco, California
Feb 21 2007 WEST HOLLYWOOD, California
Feb 23 2007 Tucson, Arizona
Feb 24 2007 Marfa, Texas
Feb 26 2007 Norman, Oklahoma
Feb 27 2007 Dallas, Texas
Feb 28 2007 Austin, Texas @ Emo's Tickets
Mar 1 2007 Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Mar 2 2007 Atlanta, Georgia
Mar 3 2007 Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Mar 4 2007 WASHINGTON, Washington DC
Mar 6 2007 New York
Mar 7 2007 New York

Grizzly Bear, Papercuts, and Peter & the Wolf on the inside stage at Emo's....this is gonna be a great show.

Labels: Albums, Indie