Papercuts
is an American indie pop project centered around Jason Robert Quever.
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PAPERCUTS TICKETS
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History
Quever was raised in a
Christian commune in
Humboldt County, California.
[1] [2] He started making music at an early age and bought a four-track recorder when aged 15.
After travelling around the west coast of the United States he eventually settled in
San Francisco.
His musical career began when he recorded piano tracks for
Cass McCombs.
He has since collaborated with
Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, the
Skygreen Leopards, and
Vetiver, and produced the third album by
Lazarus,
Hawk Medicine
(2007).
The first Papercuts album,
Rejoicing Songs
was released in 2000 on the Cassingle USA label,
[4] with three further albums following, the latest two on the
Gnomonsong label, run by
Devendra Banhart and
Andy Cabic of Vetiver.
His 2007 album
Can't Go Back
was described by ''
Allmusics Jason MacNeil as "a perfect example that timeless, classic pop still exists". [5] Quever continued to shift his base along the west coast, for a time employing the rhythm section from San Diego band Moon & Sixpence, and later joined by Malcolm Pullinger and Jeremey Brown in 2004. [6] For the
Mockingbird'' album, he was accompanied by drummer Luke Top and backing vocalist and keyboardist Matt Popieluch, both of
The Cave-Ins.
The band line-up in 2008 included David Enos and Kelly Nyland and Trevor Montgomery, both also members of Lazarus.
Quever has his own home studio, which he calls the "Pan American Recording Studio", where he has recorded or mixed work by local artists including Vetiver, Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, the Skygreen Leopards, the Finches, the Moore Brothers, and Still Flyin'.
He cites among his influences and inspirations
Django Reinhardt and the original
The Twilight Zone
TV series.
[7]
Musical style
The Papercuts sound is generally classified as indie pop, with comparisons also being made to
freak folk artists such as
Devendra Banhart.
In a 2007 live review in the
New York Times
, Jon Pareles described the band: "Melding sustained organ chords with slow fingerpicked guitar, the Papercuts’ music merged Velvet Underground ballads with touches of the Byrds, while Jason Quever sang in a high, diffident voice about elusive love."
[8] A
PopMatters
review described Papercuts as "a marching band on
Quaaludes" and "part atmospheric, part dream pop rock, always melodic, and never boring".
[9] A
Houston Press
review of
Can't Go back
described the album as having a "warm, sunny sound, recalling northern California circa 1968", going on to describe the band as "a lo-fi version of
The Byrds".
[10]
Discography
Albums
- 2000 - Rejoicing Songs
(Cassingle USA)
- 2004 - Mockingbird
(Antenna Farm)
- 2007 - Can't Go Back
(Gnomonsong)
- 2009 - You Can Have What You Want
(Gnomonsong)
References
- Kopkin, Kenyon "Papercuts Biography", ''Allmusic'', Macrovision Corporation
- Chun, Kimberley (2008) "Going back: Talking to Papercuts' Jason Quever", ''San Francisco Bay Guardian'', 16 April 2008
- Klein, Joshua (2008) "Album review: Lazarus - ''Hawk Medicine''", Pitchfork Media
- Teegerstrom, Krissy (2005) "Papercuts ''Mockingbird''", ''Stylus magazine'', 10 January 2005
- MacNeil, Jason "''Can't Go Back'' Review", ''Allmusic'', Macrovision Corporation
- Chen, George (2004) "Local Live: Papercuts, Bottom of the Hill, Oct. 6", ''San Francisco Bay Guardian''
- Smyers, Darryl (2007) "Retro Nothin: The Papercuts' Jason Quever is quintessentially modern", ''Dallas Observer'', 21 February 2007
- Pareles, Jon (2007) "Three Bands on Trips That Lead to the ’60s", ''New York Times'', 9 March 2007
- MacNeil, Jason (2004) "Papercuts ''Mockingbird''", ''PopMatters'', 7 December 2004
- Ayers, Michael D. (2007) "Papercuts ''Can't Go Back''", ''Houston Press'', 28 February 2007