The lazy joy of Paper River
By Jamie Finn (@jamiefinn2209)
Paper River's delicate folk sound is underscored by a chasm of soul, lethargic charm and some of the juiciest songwriting you're likely to hear. In this article, we take a look at what makes them so vital.
The essential characteristic of Paper River is lightness. It's central to everything they do. In the course of two albums (2020's Why Why and 2022’s where, there was), Paper River effectively write the definitive edition on lightness. Such is their lightness that even when the band explores darker themes or tones, the sunshine-through-the-curtains aesthetic is all-conquering.
Take a track like Deer's eye, which appears on both albums, for example. Here, Paper River explore a gloomier tone relative to much of their music, yet it's all done through their trademark dreamy lethargy of lightness. Here, like in many songs, their smoothly melancholic arpeggios are plucked out so breezily as the band almost admirably reject any temptation to pick up the pace.
A big part of this is the vocals and the hypnotic aloofness of Hanseoul's voice. Her cooly-delivered whispers are delivered with an appealing unaffected bent that also manages to add layers of intimacy and sincerity.
There's also something very natural about Paper River's sound - a breeziness that somehow makes their music about every season, even when it's not. Their music is a snowy mountain. It's a sunny beach. It's a wet forest. It's a spring field. In that sense, Paper River's lo-fi folk is the cousin of Kings of Convenience, with a touch of Cat Stevens.
The brass section is Paper River's special sauce. Adding a layer of sundrenched soulfulness and texture to the already gorgeous songs.
There's an inherent contradiction in their music, though. With much of their music, there's a layer of pensiveness that brushes against sadness. This is reinforced by the lyrics, which can reflect darker themes ("Why does everyone have to live in a bright world?"). Yet, contradictorily, the songs feel so warm and soothing. Even, at times, joyous. Listening to Paper River is like having a thoughtful and personal, but ultimately very satisfying, conversation over a cup of some sort of delicious soup.
