Papernut Cambridge are one of those peculiar little bands, who carve a niche for themselves within their field, then continue to release album after album of the most wonderful music. That they never break outside of their core group of fans never seems to be much of a concern, and in fairness main man Ian Button has had more than his taste of “fame” with previous bands Thrashing Doves, and Death In Vegas. Here, his music is of a more esoteric nature, firmly ensconced in whimsical 60’s psych which is sorely missing from modern music.
It’s almost as if you have been sent on a time warp back to the glorious days of the Village Green Preservation Society, albeit on a sleepy Sunday comedown as a jazz ensemble picks out the ruins of the day. Papernut Cambridge’s music is never straightforward, and whilst a song such as ‘Crying’ may threaten to get a singalong going on, it is the more deeper fare such as ‘Tulips In A Top Hat’ that you get to the very essence of the band. Never ones to make it easy on the listener, they are more than willing to test you with fragments of Canterbury Sound, within avant-garde jazz moments.
Through it all is a wonderfully melancholic sound. The minor melodies, and little piano runs, serve to colour Button’s vocals, which are full of emotionality in lyrics. Half whispered gruffness, they show an open humanity which makes a song such as ‘How To Love Someone’ pierce your heart and soul, and leave you nodding in appreciative complicity. There is a sense of playfulness too, which comes to the fore in ‘Angelo Aggy’, a song which could have been a boozed up “round the old Joanna” in days gone by.
‘Mr Shimshiner’ practically bounces by on some delightful recorders before the maudlin ‘Kalinda’ offers some lovely little harmonies inside its Lennon-esque production. The aforementioned legend shows his ghost in ‘No Pressure’ too, which channels his ‘Working Class Hero’ into a piano driven stomp. It provides a rather wonderful high point to what has been an album of many treasures. Little vignettes evoking a time past, but never dwelling. It’s what Papernut Cambridge do best.
Whilst there may be a dearth of bands influenced by the classic sound of British psych, it only serves to make Papernut Cambridge that much more special. When listening to their music you feel as if a hole in time has opened and offered you a glimpse of what it used to be like. It’s the sound of village greens, cricket, afternoon tea, and most of all, lysergic wonder. It’s a time that is lost, but its warm nostalgia never fails to pull you in. Cementing their place as treasures of the British psych scene, Papernut Cambridge hit a home run with this excellent album.
