Papercuts

Fading ParadeSub Pop ****

Indie-pop goes one of a few ways: it’s either so saccharine you want to wash out your mouth with bleach, so generic it’s insulting to anyone informed by the genre, or it hits the mark between it’s influences. San Francisco outfit Papercuts (effectively songwriter/producer Jason Quever) can easily be dropped into the latter category, such is the deft balance between familiarity and finesse. If you’re looking for reference points, then on this, the unit’s fourth album, you’ve come to the right place: Quever knows how to staple together quality cut-offs from The Velvet Underground, The Go-Betweens, The Byrds and Fountains of Wayne with not a hint of abused material trailing behind. Across 10 songs and less than 40 minutes, Quever’s achievement is substantial: valid, vivid and needle-point sharp indie-pop. See myspace.com/thepapercuts TONY CLAYTON-LEA

Download tracks: I'll See You Later I Guess, White Are the Waves, Winter Daze