After a decade spent playing with
Eternal Summers, guitarist/songwriter
Nicole Yun was ready to try something other than the dream pop/shoegaze mix that band did so well. Working on
Paper Suit with talented teams in NYC and Philadelphia that included members of
Maxïmo Park,
Pains of Being Pure at Heart,
Guided by Voices, and
Bleeding Rainbow, she crafted a love letter to the various forms of alternative rock that she grew up on in the '90s.
Yun and company skillfully navigate baggy dance-rock on "Tommie," pulsing power pop on "Supernatural Babe," and dreamy guitar pop à la
the Sundays ("Two Eyes"), the
Blake Babies ("Destroy Me"), and
the Lemonheads (just about everything else).
Yun's voice proves flexible enough to sound good no matter the style, and she doesn't just imitate her idols, she brought some very melodic and lyrically memorable songs to the party. Many of the acts she pays tribute to only wish they had albums this sunny and sweet from beginning to end; this deeply felt and softly hooky; this smooth and note-perfectly played. It's more than just a pleasant holiday for
Yun. She sounds like she was born to play this kind of alt-rock, and the only thing that might keep the record from being a sensation is the sheer number of other people treading similar paths.
Yun and
Paper Suit stand head and shoulders above 99 percent of those acts, and anyone seeking a record that not only revives the guitar pop of the '90s but brings it fully up to date should waste no time giving this a spin. ~ Tim Sendra