4 out of 5

Label: Murailles Music

Produced by: Patrice Guillerme (engineered by)

Existing a comfortable several years past what seemed, to me, an early 00s surge in DC Discord punky hardcore, France’s Papier Tigre have some benefit of hindsight of the one-off acts that populated that scene, and can swirl the music’s muscley undertone with much more substantial elements: a pummeling, Call Me Lightning sense of rock; a performative vocal performance that nibbles from the emo pile but matures it; and a properly unhinged sense of composition that finds tracks twisting and turning (or sometimes staying put!) in surprising ways.

The latter is also what holds The Screw back somewhat, even if it’s one of Papier’s defining attributes: even though this album rocks, the payoffs seem somewhat besides the point for the band, both in lyrics and music; we’ll get guitar explosions, and verbal slinging, it just doesn’t necessarily come on the heels of a build up, making the tracks sometimes fit together like puzzle pieces, instead of having flow. The pieces are locked in tight, but there’s an organic element that can be said to be missing, though covered well by meaty engineering and mix from Patrice Guillerme, and smart, effective mastering from pro Jason Ward. You’ll also often by too distracted by the dynamic interplay of the music to question much of this, and indeed, the lack I’m identifying only really comes out once you’ve gone through the album a few times.

Vocalist Eric Pasquereau is clearly a focal point here, and uses their instrument supremely well: the sneery talk speak can easily fall flat, or become uninteresting, but Eric is willing to go all in with highs and lows alongside his shout, making their voice one of the most “full” of this type – full of volume; range; and passion. Vibing between angular rock, some legit grooves, and occasional ear punishing experimentation (a good thing, I promise), Papier Tigre’s The Screw is grabbing from the get-go, and has the distinction of being capable of maintaining that immediacy throughout. The constant switch ups may mask how clinically composed it actually is, but I promise – the vast majority of the time: this won’t matter.