Paper Route's 2012 sophomore LP sounds light-years ahead of its 2009 debut, Absence. Aside from a tour between albums, this could be attributed to the fact that before recording The Peace of Wild Things, the Nashville trio moved into the same dwelling: an old plantation house dubbed
Joy Mansion. It was there that J.T. Daly, Chad Howat, and Gavin McDonald honed their craft to such perfection that the opening synth-pop anthem,
Love Letters, plays with the assured confidence and refined musicianship of a third or fourth studio album. Without former band member Andy Smith, who provided Prince-inspired falsettos, Daly ramps up his range as heard in the chorus of
Better Life, a romantic tune with retro synthesizers and a heaving refrain that could accompany an '80s Brat Pack movie.
You and I is a salient single that similarly invokes memories of Orchestral Manoeuvers in the Dark and INXS' contribution to the Pretty in Pink soundtrack, but the winsome
You and I perfectly balances bygone influences with originality. - iTunes
CD Details
- Release Date: September 11, 2012
- Record Label: Tree of Hearts
- UPC: 859708498080
- Number of Discs: 1
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