At 40 minutes long, Paper Beat Scissors’ sophomore full-length has the ability to stretch so much further. Tim Crabtree’s ethereal vocals are the highlight of much of the stunning chamber folk, which builds remarkably well through 10 tracks.
Opener Enough comes to life slowly with patient, plucking guitars before growing grand. And at a number of points throughout the record, Crabtree’s folk explodes into engrossing pop, most notably on the poignant, swaying Wouldn’t. But it’s still all about Crabtree’s vocals, at once disarming and touching. He has the ability to pull the reins at just the right moment to prevent a cinematic overdose.
Altona is one of the more chugging, percussion-heavy tracks but even there Crabtree keeps his cool. The instrumental A Reprieve comes in at just over two minutes but still spreads out gracefully, and nods to early Broken Social Scene. Go On is a stunning achievement for a criminally underappreciated artist.
Top track: Wouldn’t
Paper Beat Scissors play Burdock September 3.
