Wallpaper Armed with New Music for Pablo Performance

Wallpaper’s newest release, “The Sun & The Shade,” is a little bit of contemplative summer sweetness to get you through this rainy end of winter.

This is the second full-length album release from the Clemson-based band, a self-described “experimental folk project” from Tayler Bucich (and friends).

The project has a fairly short runtime of 36 minutes for its 10-track length, but each song packs in a universe of emotions. It has an incredibly nostalgic feel from the very first song, an instrumental and the title track that needs no words to convey the emotions, using a melodic combination of bitter and sweet harpsichord that echoes the tone of the whole album. The structures of the songs are simplistic, which is welcome in an era when a lot of music feels too crowded, but it’s saved from being too much so by the clear love and attention paid to the details of each song. The little differences in rhythm, shifts in mood, repetition of lyrics here and there — all of it fills out the edges.

Every song is populated with many different sounds: church bells, the shutter of a camera, children’s noisemakers, and the tinkling of glass bottles, as well as whimsical instruments and layered vocals that create an entire world. The album is surprisingly cohesive without being too similar between tracks; each song has individual elements but they all fit well within the overall mood. The mixing and mastering on this project is truly wonderful, each little piece is allowed to shine through when it should, without being too overcrowded or muddying the overall sound. At times cacophonous and slightly uneasy, at other times cotton candy sweet, it truly does contain multitudes.

One of the standout tracks is “Quiet Time,” a beautifully layered song with heavenly vocals and a ukulele melody that tugs at the heartstrings. It is the auditory equivalent of floating down a river in the sunshine, fluffy clouds floating by. “No One’s At Home” and “I Know There’s A Place” are both lyrically compelling, raw and honest, and sweet and completely relatable. They both deal with the need to belong somewhere, and the tenderness of simple acceptance.

This album brings up a complex set of emotions. I think it’s about childhood, the unbridled joy that existed in full color before you knew what life would want from you. If you want to be reminded that there is some pure goodness left in the world, that it might be OK to be soft, this is the album for you. It also brings up the quiet sadness that exists inside of all of us, loneliness and the loss of things you can’t get back. It’s about the mix of the two, the beauty in each and the experience of being. “You and me create the sun and the shade.”

Wallpaper will hit the stage tonight, March 9, at Pablo in Clemson with Boyscott and Tom Angst. Pablo is an independently run space, so contact them HERE for the address.

Helpful Links:

Music: papercoveredwalls.bandcamp.com
@papercoveredwalls on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/papercoveredwalls/
@Wallsthatsing on Twitter – https://twitter.com/Wallsthatsing
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/papercoveredwalls/

Author / Editor Information:

Edit: CGS