Driven by a desire to create artistically boundless music, Paper Rival (formerly known as Keating) formed from two amicable Tennessee bands in late 2005. And as with the most natural of syntheses, it didn’t take the members of Paper Rival – vocalist Jake Rolleston, guitarists Patrick Damphier and Brent Coleman and bassist Cody McCall – long to discover their chemistry.
“We were in the studio within two weeks of deciding to become a band,” explains Damphier. “We took two songs from Jake’s band, two songs from my band, and co-wrote one song to get started.”
This musical marriage not only feels, but sounds, right, too. Produced by Damphier and recorded in three Nashville studios, Paper Rival captures the sound of a developing band who collaborate as though they’ve never been apart. Informed by the band’s love for timeless, transcendent rock artists, spanning from Bob Dylan and Bruce Cockburn to Neutral Milk Hotel and Broken Social Scene, Paper Rival’s self-titled EP is the rare debut that gently reflects its influences while simultaneously offering something altogether new. That sensibility steers the romance behind Rolleston’s lilting whisper in “Alabama,” the crashing guitars and irresistible melodies of “A Fox In The Garden,” and the transfixing buoyancy of “Home Is Right Out Your Window.” All told, Paper Rival is an inspiring first effort that will surely appeal to fans of its members’ previous outfits, Keating and new admirers alike. “I’m hoping we can bring everyone into the fold,” says Rolleston. “Hopefully this EP will give both sides an idea of what we sound like now, which is definitely broader and deeper. Bringing everyone together is my greatest ambition.”