The Papercranes at SXSW

If you’re inclined toward mind-alteration, taking the edge off, stewing in your own juices, there is good news on the music pipeline: A beautiful dose of Gainesville, Florida by way of New York, LA and the Great Beyond. With all the goodness of ecstasy and vicodin, good pot and expensive wine but without the hangover, papercranes bring on a perfect buzz that will let you operate heavy machinery and explore the dark side without getting drowsy.

“We like each other. We like playing music together,” lead singer Rain Phoenix tells us. Sure, it’s an understatement but the fact is, the whole band likes to keep it simple. Elemental. They start with modest musical ideas and stream-of- consciousness lyrics, seemingly translucent layers of clarity, and they twist it all into nuanced, mystifying works that call to mind the early purveyors of moody, melodic rock that recalls Luna, Mazzy Star and Belly. That is, if those bands were fronted by the stunningly beautiful and sultry-voiced Rain Phoenix.

And after searching both coasts and employing some very able players, Rain simplified — settled down with their friends and neighbors: Robb Buono (guitar), Andy Lord (bass), Miles Matheny (guitar), Mike Amish (keyboards) and Dave Lebleu (drums). They are an understated lot that lets you explore their charms at your own pace.

And yes, Rain Phoenix has been involved with an amazing array of projects. Starting with Aleka’s Attic, which she started with her brother River, to singing with REM and The Red Hot Chili Peppers, to playing in a local metal band called Nux Vomica and glamming it up for NYC political cabaret ensemble The Citizens’ Band, she has cut her teeth in awfully public arenas. Maybe that’s why she possesses a preternatural confidence and an almost scary stage presence. To see papercranes live is hardly the same trip as floating through the new album, Vidalia, since Rain can wail as well as she can whisper. Hers is the ravishing voice that can stand up to the intricate delicacies of Vic Chesnutt and Angela McCluskey, both of whom guest on the album.

Vidalia comes out through the band itself this fall. Recorded in Athens, New York, Gainesville and Los Angeles, the album was produced by the band and mixed by Jamie Candiloro, who mixed Ryan Adams’ Rock N Roll album. The songs spiral and swirl out your stereo, as atmospheric as they are delicate, tackling topics like trust, abandonment, loss and need. “For the most part we like to write using whatever is inspiring us in the moment,” Rain says. “With less attachment to the outcome, we often find we are happier with the results. We aren’t ‘going for anything in particular we just want to see where things naturally ‘go.’”

And “go” they certainly do. papercranes is at work already on a new album and will soon be touring the East Coast in support of Vidalia. If their tour is anything like their music, it will be one beautiful trip indeed.

PREVIEW - Papercranes - Treasure

Gnarls Barkley Reinvents Popular Music

The studio reinforces my hypothesis about perception vs. reality. You’d think it would be a flashy space with three secretaries wearing headsets in a mod waiting room where I’d be forced to sit awkwardly in a hanging-ball chair. Danger’s studio is actually nondescript—not quite dingy, but very worked-in, with computers and keyboards lining the walls. The down-home feel sets me at ease as the guys walk in and introduce themselves.

I’m immediately drawn to how laid back they seem. They give off a regular-guy vibe, even though nothing they create, either independently or as Gnarls Barkley, has any hint of regularity. They also both have an understandable “here-we-go” look on their face, the kind you get when you’re about to embark on a several-month-long publicity tour promoting your latest creation.

Cee-Lo wears a gold satin jacket, black jeans and an inch-thick diamond bracelet over his heavily tattooed arm. Danger Mouse is sporting a vintage grey blazer with a shirt underneath that says “Cassius Clay” in red cursive. I’m distracted by the fact that I could never pull off the blazer-over-shirt look, and by my bubbling excitement to ask not only about The Odd Couple, but also their obvious love of ’60s music and melancholy pop. And of course I’m also curious as to how they maintained any sort of artistic vision after birthing the monster that was their ubiquitous smash, “Crazy.” But instead of getting to any of that, I spend the first two minutes rambling about the following idea:

“I think The Odd Couple is the soundtrack for a tortured superhero.” They look at me and nod politely. For reasons still unknown to me, I continue: “Yeah, when I heard the album this morning, I felt like I was listening to a story about a very lonely superhero who raced from planet to planet looking for someone to love. At one point, I even saw myself as the superhero, and I was floating underwater looking up at the moon through the water, and I was feeling overwhelmed by the pressure of being who I was destined to be and the sadness that no-one could help me with that.”

Cee-Lo flashes a big smile, and Danger Mouse says, “That’s why we don’t like telling people what these records are about.”

It turns out that this is one of Gnarls Barkley’s main goals: to create a mysterious new sound that allows for individual interpretation. They accomplished this with their first album, St. Elsewhere, which crossed all boundaries by sampling Gianfranco Reverberi, covering the Violent Femmes and unleashing a pop masterpiece that could be heard everywhere from here to Estonia. Literally. It was #1 in Estonia. Number üks with a bülletään!