An elusive Signs of Paradise keep things exclusively about the music – a refreshing quality, and one that shines beautifully throughout the humble and catchy indie-rock collection that is their self-titled album.
Just a Moment introduces things, an accessible vocal lead, a simple melodic back and forth, an organic to acoustic full-band set-up and nostalgic call-and-response. There’s even a likable but again modest guitar solo, and a story both personal and relatable. It leads us well into the ten-track playlist that is the completed album.
Other highlights from Signs Of Paradise include the rockier distorted rhythm and pace of Call Me Mory, a grittier punk-rock track that really showcases the skill and unity of the band – as well as the more than capable nuances of our leading vocalist. It’s an anthemic hit, with a huge hook, and will no doubt prove a massive favourite with crowds at the live shows.
Time To Live is another favourite for its sense of story and the initial focus on that vocal longing. There’s a spacious guitar sound alongside the voice, a long-form melody at play, and a keen rhythm section that ultimately bursts into view to really inject a nostalgic rock edge. We’re in a kind of Ash territory, which, for the rock and Brit-pop fans of the early 2000s, will no doubt feel like a comforting embrace.
Also more than worth hearing is the starkly juxtaposed calm and shoulder-swaying warmth of an intimate and heartbroken Still Loving You. Signs of Paradise lay bare another side to their songwriting and performance abilities, connecting for their sheer realism and humanity, across a sultry and mellow listen that’s really well-placed as the penultimate track of the album. The hook resolves beautifully here, a long-form outpouring neatly wrapped up by the subtle and satisfying drop of the title.
For the curtain call, Above The Blue (Islands) again depicts a band who appear unable to be pigeonholed stylistically. The voice is relatable but versatile, the harmonies are lush, the pace varies from high-octane to smooth and seductive, and this final track has a certain summer-time softness and joy to it. A closing song loaded with dreamy imagery and a simple melodic to-and-fro – its an earworm for sure, but a humble, sleepy and soothing one.
Ultimately an impressively unexpected album of diverse and purposeful songs, Signs of Paradise is, by all accounts, the work of a band with a natural passion for the process and escapism of writing and performing songs together. That’s exactly how it should be, in my opinion, and as such, this is a wonderful collection of originals.
