''Paper Empire'' is the seventh studio album by the

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

-based

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

trio

Better Than Ezra Better Than Ezra is an American alternative rock band based in New Orleans, Louisiana, and signed with The End Records. The band formed in 1988 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and consists of Kevin Griffin (vocals and guitar), Tom Drummond (bass g ...

, released on May 12, 2009, through

Red Distribution RED Music, stylized RED MUSIC, formerly RED Distribution, LLC (Relativity Entertainment Distribution) was a Sony-owned sales and marketing division that merged under The Orchard in 2017. RED previously handled releases for more than sixty i ...

. It is the first album to feature new drummer

Michael Jerome Michael Jerome Moore, known as Michael Jerome is an American rock musician and drummer. He is a former member of the Toadies (1990–91), Course of Empire (1994–1998), and James Hall's band Pleasure Club, which was formed in 2002. He was a ...

following the departure of former drummer

Travis McNabb Travis Aaron McNabb (born November 18, 1969) is an American drummer and percussionist. McNabb is perhaps best known as a longtime member of the band Better Than Ezra, although he has performed session and touring work with many acts during his c ...

in February 2009 after 13 years with Better Than Ezra. Album art and packaging were designed by Lorin Brown a
One & Done Studio

Songs

Better Than Ezra

vocalist Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

Kevin Griffin Kevin Michael Griffin (born October 1, 1968) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Better Than Ezra. His songs have been performed and recorded by artists such as Taylor ...

co-wrote nine of the twelve songs on ''Paper Empire''. Griffin co-wrote four songs with songwriter

busbee Michael James Ryan Busbee (June 18, 1976 – September 29, 2019), known professionally as Busbee, was an American songwriter, record producer, publisher, record label executive, and multi-instrumentalist. He is known for his work in both po ...

, who also wrote the

Rascal Flatts Rascal Flatts is an American country music band founded in 1999. The band members were Gary LeVox (lead vocals), Jay DeMarcus (bass guitar, background vocals), and Joe Don Rooney (lead guitar, background vocals). DeMarcus is LeVox's second cousi ...

single " Summer Nights". The track "Hey Love" was co-written by Griffin and country music songwriter

Monty Powell Monty Powell (born June 1, 1961) is an American country music songwriter best known for collaborating with Keith Urban, and for producing albums by Diamond Rio. Powell's first songwriting credit was a jingle for an Allstate commercial. After mov ...

. "

Absolutely Still "Absolutely Still" is the first single from Better Than Ezra's seventh studio album, '' Paper Empire'', released in 2009. The song was produced by Warren Huart and Better Than Ezra's lead vocalist, Kevin Griffin. The song was co-written in 2005 by ...

", the album's first single, was co-written with

Val Emmich Val Matthew Emmich ( ; born 1979) is an American writer, singer-songwriter, author, and actor. He has had roles on HBO's ''Vinyl'', NBC's ''30 Rock'', Showtime's '' The Big C'', and ABC's ''Ugly Betty''. He is the author of ''The New York Times' ...

, whose version of the song appears on the Emmich's album "Sunlight Searchparty". However, Emmich departed his

label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product, on which is written or printed information or symbols about the product or item. Information printed dir ...

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

, before "Sunlight Searchparty" was released. Griffin decided that "Absolutely Still" had potential and re-recorded it with Better Than Ezra for the album. "Just One Day" and "Fit" were also co-written with singer-songwriter Jeremy Lister. Lister's versions of the songs appear on his 2007 debut album, ''Just One Day EP'', released by

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

. The track "All In" was written by

James Bourne James Elliot Bourne (born 13 September 1983) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. He is known as the co-founder of pop punk bands Busted and Son of Dork, and he also created his own electronic project: Future Boy. From 2013 to 2015 ...

, a former member of the guitar-pop band Busted (which also performs back-up vocals on the track).

Track listing

All lyrics and music by

, except where noted.

Personnel

- Guitar, Piano, Vocals * Tom Drummond - Bass *

- Drums *

Tim Palmer Timothy J. Palmer (born 4 October 1962, in North Shields) is an English record producer, audio engineer, guitarist and songwriter of rock music, rock and alternative rock, alternative music. He Audio mixing (recorded music), mixed Pearl Jam's d ...

- Mixing

References

External links

Better Than Ezra official website
* Better Than Ezra Wiki
One & Done Studio
{{Authority control 2009 albums Better Than Ezra albums Albums produced by Warren Huart Megaforce Records albums