Twelvefour Explained

twelvefour
Type:studio
Artist:The Paper Kites
Cover:TwelvefourThe PaperKites.jpeg
Recorded:March–April 2015
Studio:Avast! Recording Company and Hall of Justice
(Seattle, Washington)
Genre:
Length:43:30
Label:
Producer:Phil Ek
Prev Title:States
Prev Year:2013
Next Title:On the Train Ride Home
Next Year:2018

Twelvefour (marketed as twelvefour) is the second album by Australian band The Paper Kites, released on 28 August 2015 by Wonderlick Entertainment and Sony Music Australia.[1] [2] The album's release was preceded by lead single "Electric Indigo", released on 19 June 2015.[3] Its video, directed by Matthew J Cox, was released on 13 July.[4] The second single, "Revelator Eyes", followed in September with a video directed by Dan Huiting.[5] "Renegade", the third single, was released along with a video in April 2016.

The album was written entirely between the hours of midnight and 4 a.m.[1] due to the creativity lead singer and songwriter Sam Bentley felt arise during this time.[3] [6] For this reason, it has been referred to as a concept album.[1] The album was then recorded in Seattle with American producer Phil Ek over six weeks in March and April 2015. The band chose Ek to create a more upbeat sound compared to their previous releases,[3] incorporating electric guitars and synthesizers into their music.[7]

twelvefour debuted at number 8 on the Australian ARIA Albums Chart on 5 September 2015. The band embarked on a tour of Australia from 16 October to 8 November 2015 in support of the album.[8] They then toured the United States and Canada across November and December 2015,[7] and Europe in January and February 2016. A film directed by Cox depicting the process of making the album was announced for release later in 2015,[3] but has yet to surface.

Critical reception

Gareth Hipwell of Rolling Stone Australia gave the album three out of five stars and felt "Revelator Eyes" sounded as if "The muses of the witching hour [...] have breathed some hazy Eighties nostalgia" into Bentley's songwriting.[9] However, Hipwell criticised his often "insubstantial lyrics".[9]

The AU Review called the album a "fluid progression of sounds and ideas" as well as "[h]ypnotic, whimsical and otherworldly".[10] Jessica Morris of the US-based website PPcorn deemed the album "[c]omplex and delicate" as well as "profound".[11]

Michael Smith of Renowned for Sound gave the album a perfect score of five out of five stars, opining that the change to an upbeat style was a "logical evolution" of the band's sound, and commended "Bentley's consistently moving vocals to the sheer quality of the guitar riffs that give the songs their power".[12] Sara Tamim of Vulture Magazine was "fabulously yet not surprisingly impressed" by the band's second album; she also remarked positively on the interchange of styles and the "new, flurry sound with intergalactic guitar vibes" of opening track "Electric Indigo".[13]

Rating the album four out of five stars, Roshan Clarke of The Music labeled the album a "gorgeous listening experience" and expressed that the "glowing album cover and moody track names like 'Electric Indigo' reflect th[e] nocturnal theme [of the record], but the warm instrumentation transcends any particular time of day".[14]

Writing for News.com.au, Mikey Cahill judged that the album is primarily devoid of egos—"what you hear is what you get".[15] Rating the album three out of five stars, Cahill went on to state that the band sound "calm and delirious" on "Bleed Confusion" and that "Woke Up from a Dream" is "timeless Americana".[15]

Personnel

Credits adapted from album liner notes.[16]

The Paper Kites

Technical personnel

Artwork

Release history

Region! scope="col"
DateFormatLabelCatalogue
Australia28 August 2015Wonderlick Entertainment / Sony Music AustraliaLICK0014
United StatesNettwerk0 6700 31087 2 0

Notes and References

  1. Web site: JB Hi-Fi twelvefour PAPER KITES, THE. JB Hi-Fi. 13 October 2015.
  2. Web site: twelvefour by The Paper Kites on iTunes. 28 August 2015 . Apple Inc.. 13 October 2015.
  3. Web site: The Paper Kites – Album Number Two. The Paper Kites. 19 June 2015. 13 October 2015. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20150923081030/http://www.thepaperkites.com.au/910/. 23 September 2015.
  4. Web site: The Paper Kites – Electric Indigo (Official Music Video). The Paper Kites on YouTube. 13 October 2015.
  5. Web site: The Paper Kites – Revelator Eyes (Official Video). The Paper Kites on YouTube. 13 October 2015.
  6. Web site: The Paper Kites Announce New Album 'Twelvefour' – Music News, Reviews, Interviews and Culture – Music Feeds. Music Feeds. Williams, Tom. 19 June 2015. 13 October 2015.
  7. Web site: The Paper Kites – The Paper Kites Announce North America/Canada Tour. The Paper Kites. 24 August 2015. 13 October 2015. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20150923081340/http://www.thepaperkites.com.au/942/. 23 September 2015.
  8. Web site: The Paper Kites – The Paper Kites Video + Australian Tour. The Paper Kites. 14 July 2015. 13 October 2015. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20150923081755/http://www.thepaperkites.com.au/930/. 23 September 2015.
  9. Web site: Rolling Stone Australia — The Paper Kites – twelvefour. Rolling Stone Australia. 25 August 2015. 13 October 2015. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20150830003329/http://rollingstoneaus.com/reviews/post/the-paper-kites-twelvefour/2135. August 30, 2015.
  10. Web site: Album Review: The Paper Kites – Twelvefour (2015) the AU review. The AU Review. Macdonald, Emmylou. 24 August 2015. 13 October 2015.
  11. Web site: The Paper Kites: 'twelvefour' Track-By-Track Album Review. PPcorn. Morris, Jessica. 27 August 2015. 13 June 2018.
  12. Web site: Renowned for Sound Album Review: The Paper Kites – twelvefour. Renowned for Sound. Smith, Michael. 3 September 2015. 13 October 2015.
  13. Web site: Vulture Magazine – Album Review: The Paper Kites' twelvefour. Vulture Magazine. Tamim, Sara. 28 August 2015. 13 October 2015.
  14. Web site: The Paper Kites twelvefour Roshan Clarke theMusic.com.au Australia's Premier Music News & Reviews Website. The Music. Clarke, Roshan. 19 August 2015. 13 October 2015.
  15. Web site: Latest Album Reviews: Duran Duran, Stereophonics, The Paper Kites, Natalie Imbruglia & Jarryd James. News.com.au. Adams, Cameron. Cahill, Mikey. amp. 10 September 2015. 13 October 2015.
  16. twelvefour liner notes (CD). Sony Music Australia, Wonderlick Entertainment. 28 August 2015.