PAPUR WAL
Share video for ‘Arthur’
Debut album ‘Amser Mynd Adra’ (Time To Go Home)
due 8th October via Libertino Records
Cardiff slacker pop trio Papur Wal have shared the new video for ‘Arthur’, taken from their debut album Amser Mynd Adra (Time To Go Home), due 8th October via Libertino Records.
Originally hailing from North Wales, the band fully formed in Cardiff in 2017 when Ianto (Vocals / Guitar), Gwion (Vocals / Bass) and Guto (Vocals / Drums) arrived as stowaways on the capital city’s streets. Driven to follow their creativity via their native language, Papur Wal combine fearless slacker influences and infectious power pop melodies into a beautifully raw musical mosaic.
With it’s captivating melodic hooks that draw influence from the likes of Nils Lofgren, Bruce Springsteen and Teenage Fanclub, Arthur is a more classically Papur Wal song in terms of subject matter with references to the late celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain, hard-hitting truths, and sworn secrets.
“It’s a song about a dear friend of ours, Arthur, and a wild night in London with him in 2020,” says the band. “The chorus counts down from 8 to 2, and relays a message Arthur reminded us of on this fateful night – that Ianto (after Gwion) is his second best friend, and there’s nothing anyone can do about it.”
Papur Wal set themselves apart by their dedicated driving force and their formidable power. The trio capture this raucous tone from their guitar battling against the sharp drum beat and intensive fills whilst the low-end brooding bass note brings this additional, complex layer to the ensemble. These fruity hooks and bright break-downs keep the audience mesmerized by the standout appeal of this outfit and the single’s unpredictable structure. When the fuzzy notes flurry and bring the power back to focus, the atmosphere heightens and once again showcases that rich and distinct diy tonality the trio produce. Papur Wal once again crafts this essential creation with this alluring melody and air of melancholy, their fierce delivery cuts through the grainy ambiance by that soundscape that accentuates the outfit’s countless crafty hooks within their music. The raw choral harmonies embrace that coarse yet expressive affection, making the lyrics resonate intently.
The new single captures this inspiring nostalgic influence, bursting through the passages and the lyrical approach. That nostalgia gravitates towards an upbeat anthemic feel similar to that from the late 90s early 00s and assists with the immersive attribute that Papur Wal has created. Whilst the accompanying film just oozes fun and creativity and plays off that nostalgic touch. Papur Wal offers this refreshing visual keeping the audience captivated throughout.
Papur Wal have always been enticingly unique. One part early Beatles, the other Lou Reed at his most power chord thrashing intensity, what ties their songs together under the harmonies and fuzz is an unflinching desire to wear their hearts proudly on their sleeves.
The band once described as ‘ELO in a car accident with Slint’ and lauded by BBC Radio 1 and BBC 6 Music started the journey towards Amser Mynd Adra at the beginning of 2020. The release of the singles ‘Meddwl am Hi’ and ‘Piper Malibu’ in quick succession introduced Papur Wal as purveyors of perfectly crafted three-minute, golden pop.
With the trusted support of their long time producer Kris Jenkins (Super Furry Animals, Cate Le Bon, H Hawkline) on the desk Papur Wal have crafted an emotive coming of age album. As with Neil Young’s ‘After The Gold Rush’ Amser Mynd Adra discusses maturing into the seemingly bleaker period of mid-20s adult life, away from the carefree abundance of young adulthood. As Ianto explains “moving out from living with friends into the rest of your life, the fear of missing out, the every day existential crisis, the guilt that comes with not knowing what to do next, separation anxiety and a new way of living your life that makes it all the more difficult to go back to do what you used to do”.
The tracks ‘Rhwng Dau Feddwl’, ‘Arthur’ and ‘Meddwl am Hi’ open the album in a flurry of unforgettable melodies and perfectly displays the dichotomy at play within Papur Wal’s debut. It’s these contrasting desires to embrace the future with all its uncertainties yet at the same time still hankering for the carefree horizons of youth that brings a strong and relatable narrative ark to Amser Mynd Adra.
‘Meddwl am Hi’ with its Big Star chord play was the first song that the band wrote that marked their transition from 90s alternative / art rock to a more 70s-pop-inspired songwriting and arrangements. It established a poppy and melodic back to basics style that is evident on ‘Brychni Haul’ with its early Beatles wistfulness recalling and embracing the good time.
‘Andrea a Fi’ refers to Ianto losing his belongings on holiday in Italy, and finding them the next day with his notebook full of short Italian poems written by an unknown passer-by. “I translated his poem to Welsh and English and it’s pretty deep and beautiful“. The album is full of these accidental moments that become beacons of connection, new joyful memories that carry you above the dark clouds.
Amser Mynd Adra is an album that you will go back to time and time again. Be it for ‘Arthur’’s captivating melodic hooks, ‘Haul Chwefror’ chamber pop, ‘Penblwydd Hapus’ infectious throwaway charm or ‘Nôl ac yn ôl ac yn ôl’ universal theme of loss of time and loved ones exasperated by the last 18 months of worry and uncertainty.
Amser Mynd Adra offers the listener empathy within its melancholy, sadness succinctly counterbalanced with playful lyrics, catchy hooks, upbeat, warm sounds.
Tracklist:
1. Rhwng Dau Feddwl (In Two Minds)
2. Arthur
3. Meddwl am Hi (Thinking About Her)
4. Andrea a Fi (Andrea and I)
5. Haul Chwefror (February Sun)
6. Brychni Haul (Freckles)
7. Penblwydd Hapus (Happy Birthday)
8. Llyn Llawenydd (Lake Happiness)
9. Nôl ac yn ôl ac yn ôl (Backwards and Backwards and Backwards)
10. Anifeiliaid Anwes (Fi Efo Hi) (Pets)
Live dates:
25th September – Tiny Rebel, Cardiff
2nd October – Libertino Stage, The Laugharne Weekend
9th October – Focus Wales
23rd October – Swansea Fringe
20th November – Queen’s Hall, Narberth
https://www.facebook.com/papurval/
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