Paul Thomas Saunders

Single review

Descartes Highlands EP

added: 7 May 2012 // release date: 30 Apr 2012 // label: RT60
reviewer: Sam Bowcher

Printable version

Paul Thomas Saunders is a fine talent and Descartes Highlands, his second EP proper, is quite fantastic.

Strong words of an intro they are but having spent a couple of weeks with the 4 track release, the songs as a collection get better with each listen and individually showcase a quite superb talent.

The Trail Remains Unseen offers moments of Conor Oberst, prompting wistful and dreamy thoughts of romance and longing. It evokes similar feelings one has when listening to a Bon Iver record. It�s that feeling of nostalgia, hope and excitement as one. Sometimes in a sad, haunting form and sometimes with a focus in your stride. It�s rather wonderful, showcasing Saunders fine talent as a storyteller. �Of the girls you held at seventeen, they had skinny waists and teenage liberty. All these things that you have seen.�

A Lunar Veteran�s Guide to Re-entry, get that for a song title, is perhaps even better. The echoing woo-oohs recalling The Antlers and Kings Ragoo. It opens with a purpose that continues throughout and again prompts feelings of reminiscence and hope. Play on the open road or with a bottle of wine.

Written, recorded and produced by Saunders himself, the time it took to find the sound he aspired to is a credit to his artistry. Swamped in ambition, lyrically and musically and with subtleties that live long, it�s an EP that deserves a spin. For all those attending the Great Escape Festival in Brighton be sure to take a peak�

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