Folksy angst
Reinvention is a fickle thing. For the established artist, it's to break the mould and move into new creative territory. For the unknown artist however, it's the chance to get noticed. Either spectrum is a gamble, but more so for the virtually unknown. Sarah Howells has been reinventing herself for several years now, from her riot girl origins with Jylt, to guest vocal spots on a variety of projects, right up to the increasingly folk driven angst of Paper Aeroplanes on which she is joined by HALFlight band-mate Richard Llewellyn.
To her detriment though, Howell's numerous projects haven't given much exposure to her incredible vocal range. It's one of great beauty that can easily turn some of the shallowest teenage angst poetry into deep fragility. While she has a range that can be turned to pretty much anything, there's always been a feeling that the melodies have let her down in the past. With Paper Aeroplanes' latest offering, more of a direction change than a reinvention of sorts, there's that old familiar feeling of some songs hitting a glass ceiling before breaking past it with a score of great songs later on.
We Are Ghosts starts off as a stripped back affair with 'Days We Made'. It sounds almost dated, harking back to the fey folk-pop of the 90's. That said, there's a clear indication of the band moving away from conscious attempts at disposable chart success. It's not an entirely successful concept, until the title track, where things truly pick up and work in favour of Howell's vocals.
The songs work better when the sound gets bigger, with more complex instrumentation filling in the sparse blanks of earlier tracks. This is when Paper Aeroplanes really shine; dabbling in Alt. Country musings and lyrically dispensing with the forlorn heartbreak. The whole album sounds like a concept in this regard, much more than the scattershot approach of their debut. It's all brought back full circle with Save It, marking the downbeat end of a very brief rise and fall mini-album.
It's not the best recording Howell's has ever committed her vocals to, but it's probably the most cohesive since her short-lived Skin and Bones project. With that hint of more complex melodies, Paper Aeroplanes still has the potential to flourish into even better act.