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 lightning 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.