Paper Tigers took the time out to answer our questions about their music and how they make it! Let’s see what they have to say!
Do you have a story behind your artist name?
When we first started as a band, we couldn’t agree on a name right away, so we just brainstormed and threw out a ton of ideas to each other until we landed on Paper Tigers. It was the first thing we all didn’t collectively hate.
Tell us a bit about your music journey. How has it shaped you?
Originally, we didn’t have a specific idea of how we wanted to sound. We each have such different musical preferences and histories, which created challenges with how we approached songwriting. We’ve sort of taken all those different inclinations and fused them into a, (we feel), unique sound that isn’t easily defined. In the end, it usually leads us to a song or piece of art that we end up being very proud of, however.
How would you describe your sound to someone unfamiliar with it?
We struggle with this constantly. Usually, we just say our sound is “indie/alt-rock” and let the listener decide for themselves. We’ve been described as “arena rock” and “anthemic” but we just think of ourselves as, basically, loud and catchy. The avid listener will hear influences from bands like IDLES, Thrice, Oasis, Blur, Foo Fighters, and many more.
What drew you to the genre/instruments you are playing right now?
We each bring our individual influences to the table. Michael [Medlock, vocals] is a huge fan of Brit-rock and grunge. Bjarki [Guðmundsson, guitar] likes jazz and noise-rock, Matt [Hughes, bass] and Cutty [drums] grew up on post-punk, emo, nu metal, and post-hardcore. These all combine into what you hear on our records.
What inspires you to write music?
Everything. We write music collaboratively and typically generate ideas pretty quickly. We often refer to it as “lightning in a bottle” when we land on a progression or idea that seems to click. Our ideas come from everywhere, though.
Would you tell us about your current project, album you are promoting?
We have our first full-length album coming out September 19, titled “Charmer” and is a collection of mostly new material, with a couple older, unreleased tracks that we’ve updated and reworked. Up to this point, we’ve released four EPs, consisting of four to five songs each, all recorded entirely ourselves.
For this one, we tracked the drums, core guitars, and core bass at The Bridge Sound and Stage in Cambridge, MA. We then took the stems for each song and rounded them out in DIY fashion, adding vocals, additional guitars, synths, samples, percussion, etc. We also mixed and mastered everything ourselves. It represents a culmination of everything we learned from our previous efforts and we’re incredibly proud of it.
What do you want listeners to take away from listening to your music?
Our music is powerful and emotional, and aims to make a statement both lyrically and musically. We like to leave the interpretation and meaning to the listener, but hope people will feel those things. Like all musicians, we want our songs to connect on some level, with everyone who listens to them.
What are your top three artists or favorite song(s) right now?
Blur, IDLES and Manchester Orchestra.
What’s the easiest way for fans to connect with you right now?
Probably the most direct way to connect is via Instagram at @papertigersusa.
We’re also active on X, Facebook, Threads – you name it. Slide into our DMs or better yet, come to a show, and just come up to us and say hi! We love chatting with fans and enjoy taking the time to discuss music.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/papertigersusa/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6RXKZk4BaYTHMAEZecJLF4?si=DamFK1olSQKXQJAztydWWg
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl-r62u-LkFP9dh7HRSE07w
What’s next for you?
We have some Boston area shows booked for the rest of the year and plan to expand further out into New England in 2024. For a list of upcoming shows, check out our website papertigersusa.com or our Instagram @papertigersusa.
Anything else you’d like to add?
We’re massive fans of the Boston music scene and are so honored to be a small part of it. It’s such an explosive and vibrant scene at the moment and the amount of support we get from it, is incredible and motivates us to keep creating. We encourage everyone reading this to go out, see a show, discover a new band, buy some merch, etc. Just support the arts anyway you can. It’s crucial.
Bio:
Paper Tigers is an indie-alt rock band from Allston, MA. Described as ʻpowerful and anthemic’, their music is a forceful blend of soaring vocals, dynamic guitars, and energetic drums. The band formed in 2019 through a Craigslist ad that unified the quartet whose members shared a common musical interest. Paper Tigers earned a reputation as one of the city’s best new bands, both on stage and on record, fueled by a spirited tenacity and confident swagger seldom seen from new acts.
In October 2021, the band released their third EP “A Schism Cataclysm” which saw fiery lead singles “Ursa Minor” and “Goldmine” earn radio play and blog attention around the world, and ultimately landed them a spot at the 2022 Boston Calling Music Festival.
Days before the fest in May 2022, Paper Tigers released their 4th EP titled, “I Wish Someone Would Have Told Me This Sooner”, a blistering and comprehensive record fueled by the explosive single “A Portrait of a Scene.” Declared one of “the city’s must-watch” bands by Boston.com and “one of the most thrilling alt-rock outfits to set up shop in Boston” by Sound of Boston, the band earned nominations as “Artist of the Year” for the New England Music Awards and “Rock Artist of the Year” for the Boston Music Awards.
In January 2023 Paper Tigers was announced for Quincy, MA’s second annual In Between Days music festival with Modest Mouse, Sunny Day Real Estate, Phantogram, and many more. The band is currently recording their first full length record, Charmer, to be released in September. In June 2023, they release the album’s first single, “Wedding Cake”.
