Paperbacks turn the page with new lineup, new album

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This article was published 21/01/2010 (6100 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

THE PAPERBACKS were forced to start a new chapter in 2007.

A series of lineup shakeups left only vocalist-guitarist Doug McLean and bassist Jaret McNabb in the local indie-rock group to support the release of their then new album, An Illusion Against Death. They could have closed the book on the band, but with a tour already booked they decided to move on, recruiting some friends and hitting the road.

The retooled lineup clicked and plans were made to record a new album together.

But instead of easing the new members — guitarist Kevin Andrechuk, keyboardist Kevin McLean and drummer Corey Biluk — in with something like an EP, the group set their sights on a more ambitious project: a double album.

"Right after our last album we had a big membership change over and we went into the touring cycle for that record with the new guys who didn’t have as much stake in the record; they hadn’t played on it, but we were trying to forge forward with new material and give that record the attention it deserved, so we said, ‘Let’s give ourselves a big project and give us all something to work towards together,’" says McLean.

The result is the 32-track double CD Lit From Within, which will be unveiled Saturday at the West End Cultural Centre (tickets are $12 at Ticketmaster and WECC) when the band plays the entire album in order during two sets.

The two-disc set is a concept album about the sacrifices made by artists and activists, how they are perceived and what they accomplish, McLean says.

"One of my friends is a pretty hardcore political activist and I wanted to draw parallels between how that makes life difficult with being in a band and how being creative is difficult as well. You work so hard at these things, but the immediate benefit isn’t always there," he says.

"Why do we do this stuff, is basically the concept. Why do we make the sacrifices? Why do we do these things to try to change the world? It’s not so much a question that has an answer as it is so much about how you give of yourself. It’s always good to reaffirm in some ways why you do what you do, so I looked at it in all these different ways and it felt good."

The sprawling set covers the musical gamut the Paperbacks have become known for since forming in 2001 — from slow-burning ballads to jangly pop-rock.

A double-disc set might seem like a bit of a risk these days, but McLean believes people still want to listen to full albums, the only difference is how people listen to music.

"I’m a big believer in digital music. I don’t think it’s attention spans, it’s that they have access to everything. What’s different about music now, and digital music, is not having labels involved. You can do whatever you want. With EPs you don’t have to look at the economic liability. If you have five songs you can put them out. You could release a seven-hour album now and there’s no one to say you can’t," he says.

And since McLean and McNabb run their own label, Parliament of Trees, there’s no one to tell them what they can and can’t do, so expect another release from the Paperbacks later this year made up of songs recorded during the Lit From Within sessions that didn’t make the album.

rob.williams@freepress.mb.ca

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Back in the world of physical discs, local pop-rock singer-songwriter Todd Hunter will release his latest album, Star, tonight at the Academy. Admission is $12.

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Speaking of digital releases, local musician J.R. Hill (Fo!ps, Oktars) has been a busy man lately. Since the end of November, Hill has released an EP a week on his website jrileyhill.com and is giving them all away. The seven albums are a mish-mash of everything from acoustic numbers to spongy funk to lo-fi rock with Hill playing all the instruments himself.

He and the Oktars (above) are playing Ragpickers on Feb. 6.