Abracadabra

Album review

Evolving from a chintzy, semi-ironic bedroom pop project, Jerry Paper nailed a bubbly smooth-funk sound with Toon Time Raw! and Like a Baby, two excellent albums recorded in Toronto with members of youthful jazz combo BadBadNotGood, as well as appearances from Weyes Blood and Mild High Club on the latter record. Abracadabra, Paper's second Stones Throw full-length, was recorded with their regular backing band rather than any guests, but it maintains the tightly focused soft rock arrangements and surreal wordplay of its predecessors. They've always seemed like an alien trying to come to terms with living in human society, and Abracadabra makes this premise clearer, with its bugged-out cover art and plenty of its lyrics. The most memorable songs explore existential themes; Paper begins one song by requesting "When I die, keep the trash off my memorial highway" over sedated keyboards and soft, knocking drum ticks before glancing back and smirking "I hope you remember me with a smile." The perky, drum machine-driven "Game Night" continues Paper's run of upbeat tunes about frustration and depression, turning "I'm just a chump who's down on his luck, and I feel so empty inside" into a slick, catchy hook. Elsewhere, the songs depict some truly strange characters. "Body Builder on the Shore," for instance, paints a disturbing scene of a man copping a crystal meth fix at his kid's birthday party, and "The Imposter" is a tale of deception told by a disguised criminal who was "set up by the big man." The arrangements encompass crunchy psych-soul ("Quicksand"), summery '80s pop-funk ("Cholla"), and plush lounge jazz ("Spit It Out"), and they're usually polished enough to distract casual listeners from how weird it all is. Only a few isolated freak-out moments, like the cartoon "boing!" effect at the end of "Trash Can," immediately give it away.
© Paul Simpson /TiVo