Twelvefour

''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. The album's release was preceded by lead single "Electric Indigo", released on 19 June 2015. Its video, directed by Matthew J Cox, was released on 13 July. The second single, "Revelator Eyes", followed in September with a video directed by Dan Huiting. "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. due to the creativity lead singer and songwriter Sam Bentley felt arise during this time. For this reason, it has been referred to as a concept album. 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, incorporating electric guitars and synthesizers into their music.

''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. They then toured the United States and Canada across November and December 2015, 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, 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. However, Hipwell criticised his often "insubstantial lyrics". The AU Review called the album a "fluid progression of sounds and ideas" as well as " pnotic, whimsical and otherworldly". Jessica Morris of the US-based website ''PPcorn'' deemed the album " mplex and delicate" as well as "profound".

Michael Smith of ''Renowned for Sound'' gave the album a perfect score of 5 out of 5 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". 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".

In a 4 out of 5 stars review, Roshan Clarke of ''The Music'' labelled the album a "gorgeous listening experience" and expressed that the "glowing album cover and moody track names like 'Electric Indigo' reflect th nocturnal theme f the record but the warm instrumentation transcends any particular time of day". Writing for ''News.com.au'', Mikey Cahill judged that the album is primarily devoid of egos—"what you hear is what you get". Rating the album 3 out of 5 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".

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from album liner notes.''twelvefour'' liner notes (CD). Sony Music Australia, Wonderlick Entertainment. 28 August 2015.

The Paper Kites

* Josh Bentley – drums, percussion
* Sam Bentley – lead vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, harmonica, keyboards, writing and design
* Christina Lacy – harmony vocals, guitars
* David Powys – backing vocals, banjo, lap steel
* Sam Rasmussen – bass guitar, synthesizer

Technical personnel

* Greg Calbi – mastering
* Phil Ek – engineering, mixing and production
* Cameron Nicklaus – assistant engineer

Artwork

* Mark Bentley – design for twelvefour sign
* Jackson Grant – photography
* Jefferton James – artwork editing, design and layout

Charts

References

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2015 albums
The Paper Kites albums
Sony Music Australia albums
Nettwerk Records albums