The Paperbacks Are Lit From Within

The Paperbacks new album, Lit From Within, is epic in the literal sense of the word. This Winnipeg, Canada band has so much to say that they crammed not ten, not fifteen, but thirty two tracks on their third album; a bit like War and Peace then. The album is stretched out over two discs, Lit From Within is a heavy, intelligent indie rock record that shies away from nothing. With topics like addiction, death, abuse, faithlessness, social activism and about twenty other topics that's like a laundry list of over emotional items, The Paperbacks almost come off more as authors than musicians. But alas, this is a band and they do manage to find a way to take their essays on personal and world ills and channel them through music.

Sounding something like a classic late 90's indie/college rock band, The Paperbacks apparently have chosen to head the complete opposite direction of most of their fellow countrymen. The result is a somewhat refreshing album of rather unpretentious indie rock that's choppy, melodic, and filled with a slightly sappy joyride down memory lane...well at least for me. I rather like Lit From Withinsimply because it doesn't pretend to anything more than it already is; an up front melodic indie rock record. Consistently in touch with their Byrds, alt-country, power pop, and mid-90's indie sound the band continually cranks out great song after song. If you had to think of someone current to compare these guys to, think of them as the Canadian version of Teenage Fanclub in listening to too much Wilco and Superchunk.

Lit From Within for the most part is a great record. Perhaps, undermined by the fact that the album is thirty two songs long, the album can seem to drag on just a wee bit. For the most part though the syrupy sweet stuff that populates Lit never really lets you down. With melodies by the ton and jangly and crunchy riffs by the truckload, The Paperbacks have come up with their own version of War and Peace; thankfully their version is far more tolerable and you can even sing along to it.

Melodic, uncomplicated, and unpretentious, The Paperbacks have taken indie rock and stripped it of it's pretentiousness. What they've left, they tidied up and packaged as Lit From Within. If you like good ol' fashioned melodically cool rock and roll, you'll find yourself reading (and listening) to these Paperbacks again and again.