Paper Beat Scissors – s/t

Band: Paper Beat Scissors
Album: Paper Beat Scissors

Paper Beat Scissors is the musical moniker of Tim Crabtree, a transplant to Halifax from England. Although Paper Beat Scissors is a solo effort, Crabtree was not without help when making this self-titled debut record. He assembled some other great musicians to appear on the record – Tanya Davis, Rose Cousins, Pietro Amato (The Luyas, Bell Orchestre) and Sebastian Chow (Islands). The album was co-produced by Mike Feuerstack (Snailhouse, Bell Orchestre, Land Of Talk) and recorded between Confidence Lodge (with Diego Medina) and the homes of Feuerstack and Crabtree before being mixed and finalized by Arcade Fire’s Jeremy Gara.

The impressive list of collaborators aid Crabtree in making a record wrought with emotion, with passionate vocals at the forefront. Crabtree has described Paper Beat Scissors as electro-hobo and while I don’t exactly hear it that way, the opener “Ends In Themselves” is perhaps the song that best fits the description. The song has that homemade recording feel and is almost anti-melodic. Crabtree takes on folk music with a bit of a twist.

Songs like “Season’s Rest”, “Keening”, and “Watch Me Go” start simply with just Crabtree and a guitar, but swell into an emotional peak with the collaborators making their presence felt. “Rest Your Bones” is a particular standout track in that regard. As Crabtree sings, “It’s been too long,” I’m absolutely hooked. The fervour in repetitive lines like in “Forgotten” is chilling, but it is Crabtree’s touching cries in “Be Patient” that have me the most stunned. The album ends with a quiet, acoustic “Let Me In”, a beautiful way to end this record filled with such emotion.

Paper Beat Scissors should have your attention with this album, which was released this week via Forward Music Group. It’s a record that has songwriting come to life, with added subtle quirks that Crabtree embeds in the music that reveal themselves with every listen. And the album is worth many, many listens.

See Crabtree bring Paper Beat Scissors to life at The Tranzac this Saturday, March 10th.