Papa Vs Pretty - UnitedIn Isolation

Wed 29th Jun, 2011 in Music Reviews

The debut album for Sydney band Papa Vs Pretty United in Isolation is packed full of energy and young enthusiasm. This group was originally a one-man project created by Thomas Rawle at the humble age of fifteen and it still relies upon his vocal presence, but he’s now teamed with other two highly talented musicians.

The group has made a name for itself with support sets for Queens of the Stone Age, Phoenix, Silversun Pickups, The Temper Trap and Surfer Blood, which is certainly quite the compliment on a band yet to release an album.

The first true highlight from United in Isolation, is the track Charity Case, which combines elements of pop-punk and progressive rock styles to create a catchy, quirky and quite unique listening experience. Vocalist Rawle has a really distinctive style of singing, with a twang similar to that of Josh Homme from Queens of the Stone Age.

The remainder of this album explores far softer and significantly harder varieties of the rock genre. Look For Me is a fairly stereotypical Australian rock song, with powerful riffs and sing-able lyrics, whilst I Felt Nothing focuses on simple guitar arpeggios and vocal harmonies creating quite a warm and soothing atmosphere. Rawle’s guitar skills are just as impressive, with the track Bitter Pill being jam-packed with incredible licks and dense chord progressions that are seen to few times amongst modern rock.

Papa Vs Pretty have pulled off an astonishing debut album and have really proved themselves worthy of our listening attention. Undoubtedly, they are the cream of our local crop and if United In Isolation is anything to go by, they are on track to become one of our best Australian rock bands of the generation.