Hailing from Newcastle, Paper Thin have been tearing through the NSW music scene for a couple of years now. In that time they’ve refined their raw brand of punk music to create something that feels simultaneously vulnerable and strong.
Next month, they’ll be embarking on a huge east coast tour alongside Alex Lahey, WAAX, Tired Lion, and RAAVE TAPES as part of the VB Hard Yards tour… but before then, we caught up with the band for a chat.
Before they hit up venues all down the east coast with Alex Lahey, WAAX, Tired Lion, and RAAVE TAPES, we caught up with VB Hard Yards winners Paper Thin for a chat.
HAPPY: Hey fellas, how’s it going? What are you up to at the moment?
PAPER THIN: G’day! I’m doing really well thank you. I’m just at work at the moment, answering questions in between emails.
HAPPY: Seems like there’s a lot of great music coming out of Newcastle at the moment… are there any local bands you wanna shout out?
PAPER THIN: We could be here all day really! We’re really proud to be part of this really wonderful music scene in Newy. Fritz, Dave, and Sleepeaser all released new music recently that we’ve had on repeat.
We’ve played a ton of shows with Hey Lady!, who are a fantastic two-piece Indie Rock band – when they release new music it’s going to win over a LOT of people. Not to mention Raave Tapes, who are headlining the Newcastle show on the tour! We’re just scratching the surface though!
HAPPY: Your music feels very cathartic. How important is emotional honesty when your writing your tunes?
PAPER THIN: Writing music has always been a positive emotional outlet for us; which is why I think the songs have a cathartic feel. We want to try and be as open as we can while creating songs; and we’re all learning how to be more open about emotions and how we manage them.
HAPPY: You only released your first EP in 2016… but it feels like there’s been a fair bit of progression in your music since then. Do you feel like your sound has progressed since that first EP? If so… how so?
PAPER THIN: I definitely feel like there’s been some movement in our sound. Our first EP was pretty much entirely written before the band even started; a collection of old songs and songs we wrote alone in our bedrooms.
So our 2nd EP was actually our first chance to write collaborative, and write with Paper Thin in mind. We’re happy to keep trying new things and not stay in the one place. Even the songs we are writing now feel like they’re a little different to Living With. Being Without.
HAPPY: We love the backing vocals on When You Call… who was singing the backing line there? And how did they get involved?
PAPER THIN: The backing vocals are done by Grace Turner! Who is another phenomenal Newcastle musician. When we were recording When You Call we really wanted a backing vocal in the chorus.
Our producer Matt Taylor suggested Grace, as he was recording her music at the same time. She gave up a bit of her recording time to lay the vocal down – and it was a perfect fit. We are huge fans of Grace, her new single Dead Or Alive is a total stunner.
HAPPY: Later this month you’ll be touring with some pretty gnarly acts as part of the VB Hard Yards Tour… are there any particular acts you’re looking forward to playing alongside?
PAPER THIN: Is it cheating to say all of them? Seriously! We were pretty blown away when we saw the final lineup; Claws & Organs and Being Jane Lane are both killer bands – and all the headline bands are in regular rotation on our speakers.
If I had to pick one, I think it might be WAAX. We’ve never been to Brisbane, so playing a hometown show with them will be wild… and weak (I’m sorry).
HAPPY: Can you walk us through the moment when you first found out you’d been chosen for the tour?
PAPER THIN: We were all at work! [Laughs] We didn’t have a huge celebration moment sadly; but there were lots of screenshots and excitement going around the group chat.
HAPPY: What can we expect from a Paper Thin live show come October?
PAPER THIN: We’re slowly starting to work some new stuff into the set; so expect two brand new songs! We’re playing all of our 2017 EP Living With. Being Without. plus a few more songs – basically whatever we can cram into 30 minutes.
HAPPY: Any other exciting things in the works? Can we expect new music soon?
PAPER THIN: We have some live videos dropping any moment now! We recorded them with our friends at Woodriver Studios. It’s one new song and one old song, out just in time for the tour! Other than that, we’re working on new songs for a debut album.
HAPPY: Cheers for the chat.
PAPER THIN: Thanks heaps! See you at the rock gig!
Find out more about VB Hard Yards here, and suss out those tour dates on the poster below.
