HOU know how we do.

Classic Review Week of Reviews of Classics continues with this review of Paris Falls’ Vol. II, which should have originally appeared earlier this year, but we so totally dropped the ball on it that we didn’t realize it had come out yet until just recently. Our Bad

We first got the gams for Paris Falls back last February when we caught wind of their stellar track “Shelter”. Not shortly thereafter, we finally got our hands on their freshly minted debut full length Vol. I, only to discover that the song wasn’t even on it. Turns out, the band was on such a roll when they put the wraps on their first record, that they never stopped writing and recording, and had Vol. II almost completely in the bag by the time its predecessor had gotten the mastering and packaging treatment. It’s important, therefore, to see Vol. II not as a sequel, but as a continuation of something that you’d only seen the fist part of (think Lord of the Rings rather than The Matrix if you require a Hugo Weaving example). And yet, the songwriting, the engineering and the performances on Vol. II shows that the Paris Falls was already evolving, improving on their writing, their pop-craft and their engineering.

It plays well into our schlocky writing style, then, that the album opener is titled “Progress” and is a departure from form, simply Ray Brown’s heart spelunking vocals over a chunky guitar. “Shelter”, whose Rhodes piano smashes, jagged guitar and reversed Starr drums outro, is still on our down-about-it go too list and sets the tone for the record – expect jubilation, veneration and a lingering kiss of gray morning regret. Vol. II features a greater diversity of textures than its predecessor, while still sticking to essentially the same instrument pallet. A favorite example of how this plays out is the initially waltzy “Satellite”, with its Bernard Herrmann-esque violin stabs and lonely piano giving way to sunspot cool electric piano and tambourine and eventually succumbing to full on prog rock guitar importations. The album closes with “White Rose,” a closer that effortlessly puts the cap on both volumes of the band’s output to date, fading out in the end while the music continues on strong. If there was ever a hint that you were in the midst of a trilogy, this would be it.

But given that we haven’t yet heard any tracks off this imaginary Vol. III, perhaps the band is taking a pause and stepping into a new narrative, a new branch of aural elixirs to itch that evolving pop ailment that growing on, marriage and parenthood can bring (note – NOT adult contemporary music). Were this the case, we’d be stoked, but we can’t even say for a minute we’d be disappointed if their next record was a return of the king. Recommended.

You can get Paris Falls’ Vol. II at Sound Exchange, possibly Cactus, or order it online from their MySpace page. Better yet, pick it up in person at their show tomorrow night, July 4th, at Rudyards with Inner Lights.  OOOR, you can catch them at HOOTENANNY 2: TWOTENANNY!! July 26th at the Mink, where they’ll be playing as RUSH.  ROLL THE BONES!

Stream: Paris Falls – Various Tracks