“Papership is a 5-PIECE trash-pop musical entity based out of Syracuse, NY.” according to their one-sheet and the self-description is accurate, in a very good way. No No Radio is their third release and first official EP. Papership consists of: Mark Romano (vocals/guitars), Joel Reissig (drums/vocals), Charlie Bell – (synths/keys), Alan Smead (bass) and Shawn Sullivan (guitar).
This disc jumps out of box fast, Sullivan’s distorted rhythm is soon accompanied by Romano’s belted vocals, Bell’s Attractionsesque keys plus the thunder of Reissig’s drums and Smead’s bass on “There’s Yer Blues.” Romano’s voice has a early ’80s punk snarl and Sullivan’s leads bend upward heightening the tension there. Straight-up trash-pop emotion. Bell opens “Pleased” with a psychedelic goth line into a intro right out of a Ozzy nightmare. It quickly turns into another up-tempo sprinter that spits at the ideal of the title. You can almost smell the pic-guards wearing off when they bridge to the ending. The title track has that familiar formula and stretches it to fit the distain. Bell’s keys really drive the song along, swirling through the biting guitar lines, Romano’s howl and the over-the-top rhythm section, Reissig/Bell just brutalize the bottom-end. The true pop hooks explode in “Graduation Day,” I almost expected to hear Elvis Costello’s voice chime in, but this rave-up doesn’t need a vocal line, it’s practically perfect as it stands. “Car” closes the disc with a burst of exposition and defiance, Romano still dynamic at the top of his range and just beyond. The way the band pushes and pulls is also beyond the edge of its self-imposed genre. They’re tight and loose at the same time, right on the edge, then a little bit over, just like rock should be. They are an absolute must see live!
Key tracks: They’re all key tracks!
Papership are currently working on their follow-up LP to No No Radio for an anticipated release in Fall of 2015.
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