Paper Sister is a four-piece post-punk shoegaze band from Austin, Texas. It is influenced by the Smashing Pumpkins, PJ Harvey, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Pixies, At the Drive-In, The Sundays, Mazzy Star, and many others. The band blends heavy, layered guitars with dreamy and aggressive vocals to create melancholic, visceral ballads that are both evocative of the 90s and uniquely their own.
With a hint of nostalgia and a splash of modern angst, Paper Sister introduces themselves as an introspective powerhouse on “Run Home.” For only their second release as a band, it would seem they have already found their sonic footing. Silk-lined yet aggressive vocals navigate a warping arrangement built on soaring distortion and explosive peaks. The nostalgia stems from the grunge-influenced undertones that help emphasize the nuanced differences between Paper Sister and its ’90s influences. The magic lies within the soulful vocal performance and the moving lyrics they deliver. The downtrodden writing mixed with the palpable longing in the vocals creates a whirlwind of honest musicianship that sticks in your head like an important birthday and touches your heart with empathy and grace. Paper Sister is far from an early aughts revivalist band; they aren’t borrowing tropes from the era to piece together their sound. Instead, the band combs through their emotions and puts them to familiar yet deeply personal melodies that leap out of the speaker to ensure the listener feels every intricate movement and heartfelt lyric on “Run Home.”
“‘Run Home’ is about the indelible mark childhood trauma leaves not only on the survivors of this trauma but also on the people around them who love them,” explains the band. “It is a cathartic anthem inspired by alternative and post-punk anthems of the 90s and early 2000s.”
