the-paperhead-chew

The Paperhead: Chew

The Nashville band’s fourth album reads like vintage rock CliffsNotes.
The Paperhead
Chew
Trouble in Mind
2017-02-17

“The True Poet” starts Chew off somewhere in between the courtly incense indie of Quilt and the crystallized jangle of Ultimate Painting. The Paperhead then roll through a dozen more era-carved miniatures, using every available bit of space on their fourth album to leave no detail out. The Nashville band are devout pupils of classic craft, and Chew, even more than their previous releases, reads like vintage rock CliffsNotes. There’s a lot of material to cover, but we all know attention spans are in short supply these days.

There’s a place on Chew for pedal steel country shuffles (“Porter’s Fiddle”), banjo stompers (“Pig”), and a few clearly enunciated character sketches like “Little Lou”. Early single “Dama de Lavanda” comes bearing ample Latin jazz trumpet, a bit of Spanish serenade for the titular Lavender Lady, and even a hazy day flute outro. That’s not to say that the Paperhead suffers from multiple personality disorder — they keep their personalities quite orderly, and certain calling cards — the dirty wah-wah guitars, the muted snapping drums — put their name on it all.

RATING 7 / 10