Paper Moon, a five-member ensemble from Winnipeg, need to spend a little more time at the drawing board — or writing board, if there is such a thing.
While the group starts off their third album Only During Thunderstorms with a fresh, happy and light pop sound, the lack of thought-out lyrics ends up being their kiss of death.
The band said that they were looking for an edgy sound and successfully pulled it off at first with songs like “What Are You Going To Do With Me” and “Where Did All Our Time Go.” By the end of the 33-minute album, however, the repetitive lyrics and too-simple piano stops being cute and borders on irritating. “Unhappy Together” reaches an epitome of creativity with the lines “The two of us, we don’t get along / Ever since the night you left me, I just stare at the walls.” Every single song is about a relationship. There are other things to sing about.
Lead singer Allison Shevernoha’s smooth, innocent voice is the diamond in the rough. It’s too bad that it isn’t being put to better use. After a great debut album in 2002, Paper Moon’s latest is a bit of a disappointment.