As The Paper Kites performed a set in London just a few days ago, I wanted to review their latest album, On The Corner Where You Live. The Australian indie rock-folk band released their fourth album back in 2018 and overall, it is an easy listening album that talks about the beauty, happiness, pain, and hardship that comes with life and love. 

What I liked: 

On The Corner Where You Live is an enjoyable album with sweet instrumentals and powerful lyrics. The album is nice and soothing with melodic slow songs that feature amazing guitar riffs, saxophone solos and drum beats. Right off the bat, the album opens with “A Gathering on 57th”--a ninety-second instrumental that showcases the band’s incredible saxophone skills.  

While the album has so many great songs, my favourites on the album include “Deep Burn Blue,” “Mess We Made,” “Does It Ever Cross Your Mind,” and “Midtown Waitress.” Here’s what I really enjoyed about each of these tracks:

“Deep Burn Blue”

According to Ear Milk, the band explained that this “is a song about a girl who won’t leave her room. It’s that feeling of being so inside your own thoughts that it’s debilitating.” With lyrics like, “You like the sound of a pink moon cry / Lyin’ on the floor as the day goes by / But time alone means nothin’ if you can’t escape that which you feel,” it makes the listener think that the girl is isolating herself from everyone because she is paralyzed by her negative thoughts and feelings. As someone who struggles with depression, I like this song because I can relate to many of the girl’s experiences.  

“Mess We Made” 

This is also a great song. While the song begins with a soulful guitar introduction, like many of the other songs on this album, “Mess We Made” is different as it is the only track where Christina Lacy provides her beautiful, angelic vocals. With lyrics such as, “What about the mess we made? / What about the things we gave away?”the song is heartbreaking as it talks about a couple trying to see if they can still make their relationship work after all the messes and mistakes they have made in the past. 

“Does It Ever Cross Your Mind” 

This short, soothing piano ballad is one of my favourites on the album because while it is heartbreaking, it talks about the real-life emotions that occur when relationships end like doubt, regret, and wish-fulfillment.  I imagine that lead singer Sam Bentley wonders if his ex-girlfriend ever thinks about him, even if she is a lot older and has a life and kids of her own, especially     

with lyrics like “Are you so much older now? / Your children playing in the street / With their castles / And cowboys and make believe / Does it ever cross your mind?”

“Midtown Waitress” 

Even though this is one of the last songs on the album, I really love it not only for its uplifting production, but also for it's inspirational lyrics as well. “Midtown Waitress” is a song where Bentley’s family--specifically his mom--does not support his dreams of trying to make it in the big city. Lyrics such as, “We don’t need a lecture ‘bout the things that could go wrong / I’m not a child no more / So let me be my own,” tell a story of chasing your dreams and trying to make it on your own, even when people do not believe in you and even when things get hard. 

What I disliked: 

Although I love many of the jams on the album, there are a couple songs on it that I disliked. While I thought that all the songs have sweet and soulful instrumentals, there were songs like “Flashes,” “Red Light,” and “On The Corner Where You Live” that I just wanted to skip because the lyrics were either boring or confusing.

Final thoughts: 

Overall, I really enjoyed On The Corner Where You Live. I think it is a fantastic album with uplifting saxophone and guitar production as well as  raw lyrics about life, pain, and love. I would give the album…

 8/10