5 out of 5

Label: Africantape

Produced by: Patrice Guillerme

I realize there were people in the know at the time, and there’s a pretend version of myself who raises his hand as part of that, but more realistically: I might’ve owned Papier Tigre releases, even buying them as they came out, but for various reasons… I did not give them their due. And the realization is that they rock. Quite hard. Quite brutally. And pretty utterly uniquely: mapping Discord / Jawbox-y skittery punk to Paper Chase dynamics, and then occasional touches of tasteful indie emo – of the slightly angular AgesandAges. Eric Pasquereau’s vocals are this totally misleadingly nasal sing-song that suddenly lashes out with intensity, just as the sharp musical interplay can flip from gentle strums to mathy riffs. Basically: if you want your Discord rock with some no-wave anti-elements, Papier Tigre can be your go-to.

…And this 7″ is an excellent example of all of that, featuring two focused but varied tracks that, on the A-side, function as more of a straight forward rocker, with the B-side going hard on stop-start dynamics. That seemingly makes the B-side the heavier of the two, but the A-side features a much more brutal conclusion. Pasquereau’s singing style, and the almost casual melodies, lend the songs an interesting familiarity – some distant elements you’ve heard before – but then it’s delivered with an intensity that is always of the moment.

On album, PT’s song structure can be a bit too puzzle-pieced, but these tracks are highlights which streamline the best bits.