MUSIC: The Paper Hearts

I came across The Paper Hearts in the process of working my way through the excellent maze of Arkansas-area bands. According to their myspace page, they are a mix of indie/folk/rock but i'd like to pour some country and some whiskey into the mix. Led by ex-Lucero guitarist Todd Gil, they play a similar brand of whiskey rock but with slightly softer edges, probably due to the use of a female vocalist (with a fantastic voice). Here's another description of their sound:

With dynamics ranging from quiet, somber acoustic to crashing rock, the songs are rhythmically energetic, lyrically honest and creatively heartfelt. Ink 19 has described their sound as "(one) of an up-an-about Whiskeytown with the craftsmanship of The Posies," delivering "vivid stories of hearts lost and found in a charming, personal style.

Between their website and the myspace page, you can find a number of tracks. Here are some of my favorites.

::: The Paper Hearts - Guns Are Loaded
::: The Paper Hearts - On Again, Off Again
::: The Paper Hearts - Hard To Smile
::: The Paper Hearts - Circles

You can order their album through New Scatch Records. They've got the full-length (Plans For The Past) plus the newer EP (Hard To Smile), so buy them both. Let me know what you think.

(Todd Gil, lead singer of Paper Hearts, also plays with The Good Fear, a Macktronic favorite. Check out some of their tracks (here, here, and here) and cruise on over to his blog called Crasymaker.)

[Photo credit goes to khtoo, check out his FlickR page]

Tags: thepaperhearts, paper, hearts, paperhearts, indie rock, indie, folk, music, mp3blog, macktronic, arkansas, cannonball!