The Paper Kites somehow manage to bottle the intricacies and colors of a wandering mind, and their tracks are heartbreaking in a startling way. Lyrically, the band is unmistakably brilliant, and they convey a certain melancholia that does not drag or weigh on the heart. I love getting the chance to see them live, especially when there is a large audience, because the band incites an atmosphere of intimacy unlike any other. It’s almost like the minute they start playing everyone in the crowd knows what it feels like to get their heart broken, and somehow everyone feels less alone knowing that everyone else is feeling it all at once.
The band is made up of five close high school friends from Melbourne, Victoria, and the instrumental composition of their tracks is so tight it seems obvious that the band-mates know each other well. The lead vocals offer both male and female layers, split between Sam Bentley, Christina Lacy, and David Powys, which give the tracks their most haunting quality, and it is exactly this quality that stays in your bones long after their performances are through.
Once, during a live performance of their song “Bloom,” the entire crowd began singing along all at once, and all of my hairs stood on end—it was a magnetic moment that I know I could never possibly forget.
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