Real Deal Demos from Paper Jam

Caspian Hollywell — mastermind behind the much-hyped Twisted Teens — recently gave an Instagram shout-out to the Dallas-Fort Worth band Paper Jam, so I took the bait and found their Bandcamp.

Glad I did.

Their Texas Tour Demos (released last year) is a lightening bolt. It features four songs — or “demonstrations” as they refer to them — of squirmy, dream pop in the vein of Dolly Mixture (with blurry swirls of Pains of Being Pure at Heart in the mix, too). 

Although Paper Jam tags these tunes as “demos,” I experienced them as fully-realized recordings. They don’t feel like messy sketches or like they’re incomplete. And the energy is right, too. The official album versions — featured on This and That — are brighter, crisper, and little less frantic. Still great, for sure, but different nonetheless.

The breakdown and outro chorus on “Dog” is the most blissful and power-popping moment on the whole thing. Steady tambourine, mountain-scaling vocals, and big/purposeful chords all lead to a satisfying resolve during the last minute. It’s near perfection.

Although these are “demos,” it’s clear the band must’ve felt a connection to them regardless. And now I do too.