Nashville is considered one of the America’s music meccas. Although the city is known primarily for country music, it is actually a breeding ground for an array of different styles. Enter Paper Route — a band who see the artistic potential in everything and fuse that inspiration into music. With a number of EPs under their belt, this group of friends has fused pop, rock, and electronic sounds with thoughtful lyrics and created Absence, Paper Route’s debut album on Universal Motown. We had a chance to talk to JT Daly of Paper Route and found out more than what propels the band’s music.

Audioholic Media: From what I’ve read, it seems like Paper Route came about pretty organically. You were friends who loved to jam, and then you turned that into a career. Can you talk a bit about that?

JT Daly: We kind of all came from another band that kind of ended because of a drought of inspiration. And I went on to — and took — a whole other medium. I went on to do some film stuff. Andy [Smith] left and went to finish up his degree in the study of people. And Chad [Howat] went on to finesse the art of recording and finish his degree in that. We all just gravitated back towards each other. Very naturally, Chad was recording on his laptop, and I was writing at home. And I think it was much more healthy because the songs were writing themselves again. That’s something we always made a point to do in this band. We serve the song and are just along for the ride.

AM: So, before. you guys were forcing it and now it’s just coming out?

JD: Absolutely. If you feel like you’re forcing something, I feel like that’s just a sign with art that you need to call it quits.

AM: I got your Are We All Forgotten EP last year, and I’ve always thought your sound had this ethereal and haunting quality to it, which is something you don’t normally hear from Nashville. So was that initially what you guys were going for or was it something that just happened?

JD: Yeah, it just kind of made itself. We’ve always just loved a lot of those ethereal groups like My Bloody Valentine. We’re all huge daydreamers, and we all come from a history of all having sleep disorders. And all of those groups are things you can listen to you when you’re in that stage between consciousness of being asleep and being awake. I think we wanted to try to make music like that again or make music like that for the first time. It just sort of happens. We fell in love with the instrumental kind of ambiance music because it said something with our lyrics. Moving to Nashville, I’m not sure if we really got it, but we respected it. And now we get it, and we’ve fallen in love with the songwriter perspective where it’s just an intimate song with just vocal and guitar. And it puts more emphasis on the lyrics where the artist is forced to say something. I feel like it just all came together for Paper Route for the first time because it just became what we wanted to try and do.

AM: So do you think it took a while for the instrumentation and lyrics to fit together and become what it is now?

JD: Absolutely. It was again a very accidental process.

AM: I noticed when you play live, there are interesting instruments like the toy keyboards and samplers. Bringing that into the sound and adding a kind of nuance to rock music, was that something you guys wanted to play around with?

JD: I mean being in Nashville influenced in that regard as well. There are just a lot of different types of musicians and a lot of incredible musicians as well. We are people and artists that love electronic music. I mean we have four or five samplers onstage all playing at the same time at some points in our set. But in Nashville, when my neighbor is the guy who thinks that anything that has to be plugged in isn’t an instrument, it definitely forces you to take a different perspective on our live show performance because we are musicians that respect the craft of forming an acoustic instrument. And that’s incorporated in the way we create our songs and in the way we record these acoustic instruments and put them into these machines and manipulate the songs that way. I think it’s a challenge in the way we play our live shows. At the same time, it’s something we enjoy and something that we love is to recreate those songs on the instruments that they were originally recorded on.

AM: That’s actually one of my other questions. I mean I’ve heard other albums where you hear all these different layers in the sound, and then when you hear them live, it’s a completely different band. But with you guys, the transition is so seamless. It’s like I’m back home listening to Paper Route through my headphones but I’m really watching you guys live onstage.

JD: Thank you.

AM: How do you guys manage to do that?

JD: Hours and hours of rehearsal. We are perfectionists to a fault. That’s probably our greatest strength and also our greatest weakness. We’ve thought of every possible way of playing that song. And a lot of times we’ll switch it up in every tour. It’s something we like to take back to the people who have seen us multiple times.

AM: Going back to the songwriting process, how does the Paper Route songwriting process work? Do you guys have a specific way of going about it? Do you lay the track first then put the words later or is it the other way around?

JD: It really is all forms for us. All of us are writers individually, and all of us pitch in songs. But the end result is always the group sort of shuffling through it together — pulling apart the song and piecing it back together. We’re definitely a group where the song is greater than the individual parts. It would sound completely different if one of the members was removed.

AM: I was looking at your MySpace page, and your influences include Jurassic Park, magic tricks, Alice in Wonderland and the Titanic soundtrack — very varied choices there. So what else influences you guys?

JD: We read a lot. We’re always reading. I mean we always have the time to read. So we’re always passing around books. We watch a lot of movies as well, and we listen to a lot of soundtracks. We’re a visual band, and a lot of our songs are written around a visual that we all kind of have like a scene from a movie or something that we want to communicate with sound and what we’re seeing. And that’s why we love soundtracks and why we love film.

AM: What was the last book you read?

JD: I just finished The Devil in the White City [by Erik Larson], which is about “The White City,” which is a brilliant World’s Fair in Chicago. And it’s a true story and is this remarkable group of artists that got together and crafted the World’s Fair, which, at one point, Chicago was the center of the world’s attention. It’s where the Ferris wheel was invented, and at the same time, this was where one of the greatest or worst serial killers of all time lived. The book pretty much opens up with this quote like, “Some men are born with genius inside of them. I was born with the devil inside of me.” It’s just on another level.

AM: So there might be a song that’s inspired by that book really soon?

JD: Well, Chad’s from Chicago and the musician that travels with us and helps us create these songs live was architect and creating buildings.

AM: Well, hopefully the next album or even at your next live show, I’ll be waiting for that.

JD: All right. I’ll find you and let you know ahead of time.

AM: About your debut album, Absence, I read that you guys said that the songs are more hopeful compared to the songs on the EPs. How are they more hopeful now compared to the old stuff?

JD: Honestly, I think the only reason the album as a whole is saying that is because we have more songs to say something with. Also it was the time in our lives. Things were sort of being wrapped up; some loose ends were finally being taken care of. And we had more time, and we have more of the listeners attention to say exactly what we wanted to say. You know, an EP is more of what people have more patience for these days, and blogs are taking over the music scene. We only have the people’s attention for so long, and I think the EP really serves that purpose. But it’s really a shame. As a music writer, you really just need an album to communicate and instill exactly what you’re trying to say.

AM: As far as other people saying, “You sound like this. You’re synth-pop, electro-pop…” — all these different categories are thrown at you guys. How do you describe your music?

JD: I would say electronic alternative. I’m not really into combining these really long descriptions — saying what our music is.

AM: You mentioned the whole idea of blogs, and I’ve seen your music circulating around. Aside from the fact that you guys have been touring a lot, how have you seen the Internet helping bands? Has it even been helping you get your music out there to as many people as possible, the way it’s supposed to be doing?

JD: Well in the beginning, it was amazing. We weren’t even a touring band, and yet we had a lot of people’s attention. Our music had a life. Its heartbeat was the World Wide Web. We’re connecting with the music, and I think it forced us to play live because we realized that people were connecting with it. And that gave the songs more of a life. Now, I don’t really know. I think honestly we’re really trying to figure out exactly what the Internet is doing for us, and we’re trying to figure out what kind of band we want to be. As the era of the rock star is dying because of the World Wide Web, we’re trying to figure out how to embrace it and how to evolve but still how to keep our integrity.

AM: There are so many bands that come out every day, every second. How do you separate yourselves from the rest of the pack?

JD: That’s a really good question. [pause] You know, I think one thing that we’re particular on is that what we’re saying in the songs we’re presenting is always us because I think that the listener can tell. They can tell between what is a front and what truly comes from inside the artist. I feel like when you’re moved by a certain song and when you’re moved by a show, that is beyond us just performing. It’s on another level – spiritual even. And that starts with a seed of truth in that artist; they have a choice on whether they’re going to be honest or whether they’re just going to craft the song for the sake of melody or even craft the song just for the listener because they know it will get them anything from radio play to a specific tour. I think that’s something we want to stay true to.

AM: And what is Paper Route’s ultimate goal for music?

JD: To keep making albums.

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Absence is currently available in physical and digital formats.
For more information on Paper Route, visit paperrouteonline.com.

The venue’s sound system was definitely (and regrettably) insufficient when it came to capturing the allure that is Paper Route’s texture and overall magnetism but Andy Smith’s falsetto more than made up for it, wavering between both powerful and ethereal, particularly during songs like “Gutter” and “Wish.”

Paper Route are celebrated for being a rock band who aren’t afraid to experiment with their sound and the band seem just as comfortable when it comes to pushing their own boundaries on stage. Through the use of several knobs and pedals (and the occassional accordion), Paper Route’s debut album is only amplified when Absence is translated from a studio album to a live show.

Paper Route have only a handful of stops remaining on their tour with Young Love. Catch up with them here:

04.25.09 Raleigh, NC @ The Brewery
04.26.09 Virginia Beach, VA @ The Jewish Mother
04.28.09 Greensboro, NC @ Greene Street
04.29.09 Jacksonville, FL @ Free Bird Cafe
05.02.09 Nashville, TN @ Exit/In (CD release party)

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For more information, visit Paper Route on MySpace at myspace.com/paperroute.

Tonight Paper Route hit Pennsylvania during their tour with Young Love. The remaining tour dates, in chronological order:

04.18.09 Millvale, PA @ Mr. Smalls
04.20.09 Brooklyn, NY @ Southpaw
04.21.09 Allentown, PA @ Crocodile Rock
04.22.09 Farmingdale, NY @ The Crazy Donkey
04.24.09 Washington D.C. @ The Rock and Roll Hotel
04.25.09 Raleigh, NC @ The Brewery
04.26.09 Virginia Beach, VA @ The Jewish Mother
04.28.09 Greensboro, NC @ Greene Street
04.29.09 Jacksonville, FL @ Free Bird Cafe
05.02.09 Nashville, TN @ Exit/In (CD release party)

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For more information, visit Paper Route on MySpace at myspace.com/paperroute.

»Album Reviews For Release Date: 04.28.09
by Joshua Krage

OK firstly, this Manchester Orchestra album is kickin’ my @$$. It’s great. But on to more recent musicks, this week has a small but powerful punch of great sounds, in many flavors and colors. Singer/songwriters of the barely-born and the long-legendary varieties, sample-happy tune assemblers, dream-pop and downtempo masters of ambient aesthetics, and even Canadian rock all get some choice new albums added to their cadres. Read on and get augmented:

A Camp, Colonia – long-simmering side-project of Cardigans frontwoman Nina Persson, with collaborators Niclas Frisk and Nathan Larson (Nina’s hubby and former Shudder to Think axeman, now bass-man). Persson’s gossamer vocal lilt carries this collection of minimalist pop and classic city-soul with some great horn arrangements and wide-eyed emotional expression. Great songwriting from a group of veteran songsmiths, pretty consistent all the way through and worth checking out.

The Audition

Autumn Sky, All Which Isn’t Singing – this is a local Sacramento area singer-songwriter with whom I had the privilege of jamming with in my friend’s living room last year, and whose given name, amazingly, really is “Autumn Sky.” Still young in her performing lifespan, this feisty redhead has an incredible joy and uplifting sense of melody, and a fragile but deceptively agile voice which grabs you at street-level and then dazzlingly soars for the clouds with songbird vibrato and soulfully solid high notes. Lots of clever wordplay as well. Kate Nash and Feist influences are definite comparisons in all the right ways. Check out her song “Bad Blood” and tell me it’s not a radio-ready single– it’s stuck in my head even as I type. Lots of promise, this one…

Black Crowes – Warpaint live
Clutch – rare & unreleased

Bob Dylan, Together Through Life – I was lucky enough to hear some pre-release tracks from this new LP from an artist to which you, the reader, should really need no introduction. Suffice to say, the peerless songwriting icon has come to love his modern blues sound and stuck with it strong, leading his well-seasoned road band through a heavy fog of boss tuneage with wry, self-effacing penmanship and a knowing half-smile. A strong example of quality that comes with age, like a well-made guitar or well-maintained roadster, he just works better the more he’s put to use, and puts us all to shame with even the most tossed-off effort.

Edguy

Ben Folds, University A Capella! – higher learning was never this melodic. Instead of going the traditional “best-of” route, Folds farms out his latest and greatest tunes to a bevy of a capella groups at different colleges across the country. Genius, and it saves on studio costs!

Melody Gardot, My One and Only Thrill – self-described “modern-day dame,” she’s got the classic jazz torch-song smoldering voice that could melt a snowbank with a whisper. Infinitely romantic, endearingly demure, and slyly alluring, she’s a modern-day chanteuse with old-world charm, a singer with modern-day moxy and timeless style.

Great Northern, Remind Me Where the Light Is – hazy, dreampop-laden post-wave which has been haunting the Los Angeles area wonderfully for a few years now. Deft male-female vocal interplay and a serious command of atmospheric textures make each song a colorful collage of sounds and styles, and a few decent hooks help keep the songs sticking. Lots more drums on this LP, and the guitars are huge– decent steps forward all around.

Halestorm
Heaven and Hell

I Monster, A Dense Swarm of Ancient Stars – long-present on the intelligent dance-music scene in Sheffield, UK in various shapes and forms, this sample-happy production duo comes out of semi-retirement with a new army of sonic frankenstein monsters, mostly originals (though still heavy-laden with vintage and various samples) this time around, and employing a rather varied cast of soulful vocalists to express the wordy-type sentiments. Mining a deep-soul sound and a deft DJ-mixing power, this duo is fabulously formidable, and the new album is like Senor Coconut on the Scottish moors, a classically subdued, vintage groove.

Immaculate Machine, High on Jackson Hill – their last album had some fiercely immediate muscle to it which, while invigorating, was a bit abrupt for their overall style, so the return to some more home-made textures on this LP is a welcome change. Still fully utilizing the strange electronic adventurism and ace male and female lead vocals, there’s a more down-to-earth mood about the album, with some classic pop group arrangements and some much-needed folk flavors weaved throughout, giving the heavier songs a space to breathe. And there are some great heavy songs to be sure, with primary songwriter and guitarist Brooke Gallupe cranking it up and making it jump 50′s, 60′s, and 70′s style on some choice cuts.

Jars of Clay, The Long Fall Back to Earth - (actually from last week, sorry!) when did this poster-band for contemporary Christian music turn into one of the best working indie rock bands currently touring? Jars have been sharpening and sharpening their songwriting skills over the last decade, and their last album was an incredible collection, both live and from the studio. This one builds on that success, upping the ante in arrangement and instrumentation. Reinvention is really working in their favor, and this new LP is standing strong on all four legs, completely accessible to a public that is most likely unaware how far they’ve come.

Mike Jones – Maakk Jowwwnnnzz!
The Last Vegas
Ben Lee
NOFX

Paper Route, Absence – solid indie-aesthetic songwriting augmented with solid-air ambient mastery and electronic sound assembly. Dreamy tidal waves of reverb’d-out keyboards play with the stereo sound, chopped up and down by digital-edge beats and frosted with genius curtains of backing vocal soundscapes, these guys are serious modern-age indie rockers, very versatile with the laptop sound but using it as ammunition rather than substitution.

Pilot Speed, Wooden Bones – formerly Pilate, this is Canada’s most consistent and nod-worthy rock band, employing Radiohead-level textures and turning in incredible songcraft with every track. Frontman Todd Clark pleads his heart out in a soaring tenor over slow-building modern rock majesty, ace arrangements to spare and a level of musicianship on behalf of the band that started out great and has become bulletproof. Their last LP was and is one of my favorite overall rock albums of this decade, and here I can honestly say they’ve improved on all aspects of their sound. A great, exhilirating album all around.

Tosca, No Hassle – return of the Dorfmeister! Long-running European downtempo champions Richard Dorfmeister and Rupert Huber bring a new, updated bag of mellow for your late night chill sessions.

VA – Playing For Change
Young Love

For any of you who have never heard of Pilot Speed, or their previous incarnation as Pilate, their albums have been consistently bulletproof, they won’t let you down. Beyond that, I’m really impressed with Paper Route, and Autumn Sky’s voice is a real treat, all wide-eyed and innocent but not in a sugary-sweet way. If there’s anything I missed, feel free to shed some light, eh?

P.S. You can check out a sampling of some of this week’s new songs on my MySpace page. Just let the playlist play! It’s updated pretty much weekly now, so enjoy.

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To view past reviews, visit our archives.

Ready?
Go!

(Fitting, right? Get it? Absence?)

Of their music, JT Daly has said, “We’re very sentimental, emotional, hopelessly romantic guys, and that’s not cool. But we’ve found that when you are just brutally honest, people connect with that. A lot of things that people are running away from, we’ve always found ourselves gravitating towards.”

Absence is set to drop on April 28th. In the meantime, be sure to catch Paper Route on their upcoming tour with This Providence, Brooke Waggoner, and Copeland.

04.02.09 Athens, GA @ 40 Watt Club
04.03.09 Birmingham, AL @ WorkPlay Theater
04.04.09 New Orleans, LA @ The Parrish
04.05.09 Houston, TX @ Java Jazz
04.07.09 Springfield, MO @ Outland Ballroom
04.08.09 St. Louis, MO @ Off Broadway Nightclub
04.09.09 Iowa City, IA @ Picador
04.10.09 Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall Ballroom
04.11.09 Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Theater
04.13.09 Urbana, IL @ The Canopy Club
04.14.09 Poplar Grove, IL @ Chubby Rain, House of Tunes
04.15.09 Columbus, OH @ The Basement
04.16.09 Toronto, ON @ Opera House
04.17.09 Purchase, NY @ Purchase College, Visual Arts Field
04.18.09 Millvale, PA @ Mr. Smalls
04.20.09 Brooklyn, NY @ Southpaw
04.21.09 Allentown, PA @ Crocodile Rock
04.22.09 Farmingdale, NY @ The Crazy Donkey
04.24.09 Washington D.C. @ The Rock and Roll Hotel
04.25.09 Raleigh, NC @ The Brewery
04.26.09 Virginia Beach, VA @ The Jewish Mother
04.28.09 Greensboro, NC @ Greene Street
04.29.09 Jacksonville, FL @ Free Bird Cafe
05.02.09 Nashville, TN @ Exit/In (CD release party)

For more information, visit Paper Route on MySpace at myspace.com/paperroute.

Absence will be released on April 28th. The album follows the two previous EP releases from the band; Paper Route and Thrill of Hope were both released in 2006.

In the meantime (and after), the guys mean business with their tour schedule, and beginning in April, the band will be touring with This Providence, Brooke Waggoner, and Copeland.

03.11.09 Greenville, IL @ Greenville College
03.18.09 Austin, TX @ SXSW, Pangaea
03.19.09 Austin, TX @ SXSW. Maggie Mae’s Gibson Room
04.02.09 Athens, GA @ 40 Watt Club
04.03.09 Birmingham, AL @ WorkPlay Theater
04.04.09 New Orleans, LA @ The Parrish
04.05.09 Houston, TX @ Java Jazz
04.07.09 Springfield, MO @ Outland Ballroom
04.08.09 St. Louis, MO @ Off Broadway Nightclub
04.09.09 Iowa City, IA @ Picador
04.10.09 Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall Ballroom
04.11.09 Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Theater
04.13.09 Urbana, IL @ The Canopy Club
04.14.09 Poplar Grove, IL @ Chubby Rain, House of Tunes
04.15.09 Columbus, OH @ The Basement
04.16.09 Toronto, ON @ Opera House
04.17.09 Purchase, NY @ Purchase College, Visual Arts Field
04.18.09 Millvale, PA @ Mr. Smalls
04.20.09 Brooklyn, NY @ Southpaw
04.21.09 Allentown, PA @ Crocodile Rock
04.22.09 Farmingdale, NY @ The Crazy Donkey
04.24.09 Washington D.C. @ The Rock and Roll Hotel
04.25.09 Raleigh, NC @ The Brewery
04.26.09 Virginia Beach, VA @ The Jewish Mother
04.28.09 Greensboro, NC @ Greene Street
04.29.09 Jacksonville, FL @ Free Bird Cafe
05.02.09 Nashville, TN @ Exit/In (CD release party)

For more information, visit Paper Route on MySpace at myspace.com/paperroute.