The Paper Kites

Pre-dawn lyrics and lush, late night melodies: twelvefour is the gorgeous second album from Melbourne five-piece THE PAPER KITES. It’s been four years since the quintet first formed and turned heads with EP Woodland (followed up by 2013’s EP Young North.) Then came their acclaimed 2013 longplayer, States . which delivered favourites such as ‘St Clarity’, ‘A Lesson From Mr Gray’ and ‘Young’ and saw the band travel to New Zealand for 2 sold out shows.

Determined to capture a bolder sound for album number 2, the band travelled to Seattle to record with Grammy-nominated producer Phil Ek (Father John Misty, Manchester Orchestra, Fleet Foxes) and the result is twelvefour, an album that is lush and intimate, with drum machines and dirtier guitars (“very much an ‘80s twinge,” lead vocalist and songwriter Sam Bentley insists) mixed with atmospheric synth moments. “The great thing about working with Phil was that you couldn’t fake it – he wanted to hear the real thing,” Sam explains, “He was really honest with us, sometimes brutally, but all in the interest of making a better record.”

“The album is a concept record, based around a theory that an artist's creative peak is between the hours of midnight and 4am,” explains Sam, who’d been searching for a theme to shape album number two. A passing comment from a friend back in August 2014 delivered the spark. “That idea turned into the heart of the project, so every night I'd sit down when the clock ticked over to midnight and just start writing.” For two sleepless months Sam worked, reversing his sleep patterns and penning thirty songs in his home studio. “I got to the end and thought, I'm never doing that again,” Sam laughs. “It was wild to write until you are so tired that nothing sounded too over-worked – songs didn't feel restricted by a commonly analytical brain.”

“This record is the sound of five people trying to make something they're proud of. And we really are,” enthuses Sam. “As always I hope that the people who listen to our music continue to go along with us. We're really excited to be taking these songs on the road, and bringing everyone up to speed with where we've been.”

twelvefour, the highly anticipated sophomore release by The Paper Kites, is out on August 28 and available to pre order HERE