Papa Vs Pretty

Papa Vs Pretty – ‘Arrestem’

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This song… I don’t know what the fuck it is. I don’t know what it’s trying to be – by the sound of it, everything. At times dissonant and sparse, at other times sounding like the score to an old superhero movie, ‘Arrestem’ is the sound of a band dismantling a song and putting it back together with as many different, sometimes even ill-fitting, parts as possible. Far from being detracting, the clashing styles that grind against each other only make this Frankenstein’s monster of a song far more interesting. Suffice to say, ‘Arrestem’ would be a bitch to dance to.

Even just a cursory listen to some of Sydney’s Papa Vs Pretty  output reveals a deconstructalist ethic that is applied to traditional song structures. There will inevitably be critics who deride the lack of shape and focus in some compositions but that experimental outlook is complimented by some fine production strokes and a pop sensibility that informs even their least pop-inspired moments.

The vacillating arrangement may be too abrasive at first but a lucid charm emerges from the musical mire that is ‘Arrestem.’ Give it a few spins and decide whether these guys are inspired or just schizophrenic.

www.myspace.com/papavspretty