Faded Paper Figures
New Medium
(Shorthand)
Listening to the new Faded Paper Figures album reminded me of an old, favorite quote of mine by none other than George Lucas. In an interview in Time done immediately after the success of the 1997 rerelease of the original trio logy, he was asked to account for the enduring popularity of the series. Lucas’ answer was something that I, as a 14 year old, took to heart. He answered "It’s like sex and love. Sex is a rush for a short period of time, and then it goes away. If you only have an adrenaline movie, then it's more like having sex. Whereas if people are still interested and fondly thinking about your movie 20 years later, it was either the best sex they ever had in their life, or it's romantic love, which means there is more to it than just the adrenaline rush. I don't know if that's a great quote, but anyway..."
I thought of it now because there are hundreds of great albums released every Tuesday, and many of them I will enjoy and listen to and then get over. But there’s something about Faded Paper Figures, this mixture of addictive beats and intensely brainy lyrics that has made me fall in love.
So many great tracks on this album. The first song, “Invent it All Again,” reminds me of the track that accompanies Disneyland’s Main Street Electrical Parade, something that is very close to my heart, along with some toy piano added in for good measure. Heather Alden, who did some additional vocals on the first album, gets a bit more on-record voice time, especially in this song, which is great; she has a wonderful voice. “You Know What I Mean” starts off as a rock song but then quickly turns into something that recalls an early '90s video game.
There are two tracks on this album the band released early on their MySpace page that I of course devoured: “One More Crash” and the title track, “New Medium”. They’ve both been altered slightly, especially “One More Crash,” which is always jarring at first, but now I’ve come to love both versions equally. And seeing how they fit in with the rest of the album has been quite satisfying.
I think of Faded Paper Figures as “the thinking man’s techno.” A great techno track is fun, but unless you can relate to the lyrics and feel of the song, it’s going to be a short affair. But this band offers up something far more meaningful and therefore far more durable. |
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