{"id":14420,"date":"2021-02-02T05:00:42","date_gmt":"2021-02-02T05:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/?p=14420"},"modified":"2021-01-30T17:24:09","modified_gmt":"2021-01-30T17:24:09","slug":"walking-papers-the-light-below-carry-on-music","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/?p=14420","title":{"rendered":"Walking Papers \u2013 \u2018The Light Below\u2019 (Carry On Music)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Seattle-based blues-rock outfit Walking Papers return with their 3rd<\/sup> album \u2018The Light Below\u2019, the follow up to their 2018 album \u2018WP2\u2019.\u00a0 Singer\/guitarist and chief songwriter Jeff Angell and keyboard player Benjamin Anderson may have lost bassist Duff McKagan and Screaming Trees drummer Barrett Martin along the way due to touring commitments, but that hasn\u2019t stopped the duo from moving forward with their brand of blues-based art rock and taking their sound to another dimension along the way.<\/p>\n

Joining the duo on this new album are drummer Will Andrews, bassist Dan Spalding, and guitar player Tristan Hart Pierce.<\/p>\n

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If you are unaware of Walking Papers, let’s get one thing straight, they are not a party band. They may have Guns n\u2019 Roses and Pearl Jam connections, but Messrs Angell and Anderson have not produced an album of anthemic, stadium rock to take their fans’ minds off a Pandemic ravaged world. What they have delivered is an epic album of pure escapism that takes them far away from their post-Grunge, blues rock beginnings.<\/p>\n

\u2018The Light Below\u2019 is an atmospheric and captivating album from the off and it draws the listener in, unlike either of their previous offerings. Opener \u2018The Value Of Zero\u2019 rides on downbeat, tribal rhythms and swathes of electronica. \u2018Ultra\u2019-era Depeche Mode springs immediately to mind, this is not the dusty, Seattle blues rock of their previous incarnation, this is dark and foreboding rock music that skulks along in the dark waiting to pounce.<\/p>\n

The previous single \u2018What Did You Expect?\u2019 follows, \u201cI never promised to be an Angel\u2019 croons Angell over fuzzy guitars and dance beats. Imagine if Trent Reznor had collided with \u2018Full Moon Over Dirty Hearts\u2019 era INXS and took them further down the spiral…yes, it\u2019s a 90\u2019s alternative rock thing and that\u2019s a good place to be.<\/p>\n

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Two songs in and I’m pretty much blown away already, intrigued and excited for what is to follow. And what does follow is, what I can only describe as a masterpiece. \u2018Divine Intervention\/Stood Up At The Gates Of Heaven\u2019 is the centerpiece of the album. Originally written as one piece of music, it has been split into two for this album. The full, epic 12-minute version was released recently along with a dark, David Lynch inspired video that fits the feel of the song perfectly. Picked, bluesy guitars, pulsating bass that reverberates deep down to the bottom of the soul, and brooding, whisky-soaked vocals that sit somewhere between Ian Astbury and Trent Reznor. The sprawling, cinematic \u2018Divine Intervention\u2019 documents Angell’s ongoing \u2018conversations\u2019 with departed spirits, and features Stone Temple Pilots Dean DeLeo\u2019s masterful guitar work.<\/p>\n

The segue into \u2018\u2019Stood Up At The Gates Of Heaven\u2019 is magnificent, the pulsating hypnotic beat enraptures the listener for the entirety. For me, this is what music is all about. This is an album to get lost in, an album to drift away with. With clever use of dynamics, Angell creates soundscapes to enthrall, all you have to do is put on your headphones to block out the world, close your eyes and let the songwriter take you on a trip to another dimension.<\/p>\n