San Diego, CA rock band Paper Forest has announced their newest album, Trick Photographer, out Sept 22nd on It’s Okay, I’m Crying. Along with the album announcement, the band has dropped their latest single “House In Your Head”. The song was a true labor of love for singer-songwriter Sean Burdeaux. “This song took the longest to write,” he explains. “I found an old video of me playing the guitar parts so I wouldn’t forget what they were, I guess I started writing what would become this song in 2017. I was struggling with lyrics, too. I was trying to explore anxiety and intrusive thoughts in a way that was genuine but still poetic.”
The song took shape during studio collaboration. “I went to Brian’s (drummer, engineer) studio to record the instrumental and it sounded great but something wasn’t right,” says Burdeaux. “Once I finished writing the lyrics to that original instrumental version, I wrote a new intro part and wanted the whole song to be faster. I sent the new version back over to Brian, who engineered and mixed most of the record, and asked him to record new drums for the song. Brian’s recordings were so good that they inspired to me make the songs better, so I’m really grateful for him helping me find my vision for these tracks and helping me bring them to life. This song is the strongest example of that kind of collaboration that made this whole record possible.”
The single was released as a mini EP, with two additional tracks, “See With Words” and “Dinnertime”. “See With Words” is a demo from 2015 and “Dinnertime” is an instrumental track. “There’s lots of delay and reverb on the acoustic guitars, heavy drumming from Brian, almost hip hop in feel. Kind of haunting. It sounds like a rainy night.”
The album, Trick Photographer, started out as an EP of 4 to 5 songs before inspiration struck. “As we were recording the EP, I started trying to learn about the harmonium. I love how it sounds–super reedy, like a droning accordion. I felt enchanted by the harmonium. I recorded myself holding one or two chords, making these longer drone recordings. Then I would take guitar parts and make new arrangements, adding banjo and vocals. Just taking little fragments and turning them into songs. So this little EP that should have been done by the end of summer 2020 turned into this record.”
“House In Your Head” is now available across all major streaming platforms. Listen to it now on SPOTIFY or watch on YouTube below.
Paper Forest is an indie rock band from San Diego fronted by singer/songwriter Sean Burdeaux. Originally started in 2005, the band has developed through a myriad of iterations, both in the live setting and on recording. The current studio band features Trevor Mast (Birth, Joy), Brian Scafidi (D/Wolves, 10-19 & The Number Men), and Joel Kynan (Sweet Valley).
Paper Forest is primarily a songwriting project but with an ear for avant-garde experimentation. Inspired by Neutral Milk Hotel, Modest Mouse, Violent Femmes, boygenius, Wilco, Califone, Slothrust, Phoebe Bridgers, Big Thief, Haley Heyndrickx, Palehound, Broken Social Scene, Bright Eyes, Death Cab For Cutie.
Paper Forest Is:
Sean Burdeaux – guitars, bass, banjo, harmonium, synthesizer, Rhodes, drum machine, vocals, shaker, mixing, production
Brian Scafidi – drums, bass, engineering, production
Joel Kynan – harmonium, trumpet, mastering
Trevor Mast – synthesizer, lap steel, whistling
Ava Mast & Olive Mast – background vocals
Connect With Paper Forest:
INSTAGRAM / SPOTIFY / BANDCAMP / Paper Forest Website / It’s Okay I’m Crying Website
