An amateur blogger talks about a band that no one he knows likes.

The Paper Chase. If you've heard anything of them, you're probably now thinking one of two things. "Oh god, that crap" or "Fuck. Yes."
Never has a band I like created such a polarising opinion.

For those who haven't heard of them at all, let me back up a bit. The Paper Chase are an Alternative Rock band from Dallas, Texas. Led by frontman John Congleton, they've been described as "a jagged structure of avant-garde jazz, noise, indie, and punk".

The premise of the band is a simple, but unique one:
The Paper Chase create scary music. Not ironically scary, not scary as in an ambient horror film soundtrack; music that creates a legitimate feeling of fear.
This, I can speculate, came from the reason Congleton started the band: to vent strange, grotesque emotions and desires locked up somewhere in his subconcious. I swear, if he didn't make a Paper Chase album every few years, he'd have killed someone by now.

The music consists of a combination of what I might describe as some conventional melodies coupled with some intensely overpowering noise rock and Congleton's strained vocals. This creates an extreme feeling of disorientation: a simple melody will be introduced, played out a little and then altered, warped and, for lack of a better phrase, fucked up. Every other instrument hereby kicks in, full of sharp notes and jagged composition.

The Paper Chase are a band that create albums. None of this 'iTunes on shuffle' crap. If you listen to a Paper Chase song out of the context of its album, it loses its soul. Because of this, while they are recognised in the underground and alternative scene, they can never ever be a top 40 band. But that's a good thing.

If you're reading this and haven't heard any of The Paper Chase's music, I urge you to give at least one album a listen, and based on that I'd recommend God Bless Your Black Heart, currently my favourite of their records.

Now this is a perfect time to mention their song and album titles. "Young Bodies Heal Quickly, You Know", "The House Is Alive And The House Is Hungry", "We Know Where You Sleep".. The Paper Chase's titles reflect their music perfectly: they're damn frightening when you stop and think about it.

Ala American History X, I feel if someone's already said it better, I should just quote them. So, as Calvin of Starship Amazing said on this very same subject, "The Paper Chase is the kind of band that makes what I try to do here difficult. They are dark, but not in a cliche or fake way. They are terrifying, but in a way that is entirely human. They make you uncomfortable, but they make you beg for more."

In short, John Congleton is a fucking genius.