The Letter: Spud in the Box’s ‘Lead Feet Paper Shoes’ feels like home - Wishberry

The Letter: Spud in the Box’s ‘Lead Feet Paper Shoes’ feels like home

Posted on 13 October, 2016 by Team Wishberry

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Hello Spuds,

You are called Spud in the Box, but with ‘Lead Feet Paper Shoes’, you have showed that you really think out of it. All your spuds, I mean, spades are in the right place with one. Now, I am just a plain music buff, and not a music expert hence, will just honestly tell you what the album made me feel.

I opened the artwork first, out of curiosity built by the pictures on your Facebook page. Please tell Parizad that what she has done is magic, and the entire artwork became even better after I was done listening to the album. It all fits, like family; a crazy, dysfunctional, yet a fucking awesome family which still feels like home.
Let me know.

Well, let’s go song by song, shall we?

Drown In, the intro to the album, is representative of what to expect from the album. It has the crazy parts, a hint of kickass melody, and the instrumentation supports the melodic insanity. After looking at all the album art, this does not come as too much of a surprise.

Post that crazy intro, Bullet Points hits hard in the face out of thin air. I like it! I really like it when a song does that to me. It is heavy, the riffs are intense, and the lyrics are awesome. The song really seems to be a well-rounded thought.

The second track on the record, Institute of Madness, starts off to the beautiful piano, and I went ‘huh?’. But, that went away instantly because I knew this was going somewhere. Plus, considering the track following this one, it only makes sense that it is placed here. The melody is brilliant and remained stuck in my head for a while. Institute of Madness is the December of the album, and we all wish December was the second month in the year.

Crime has to be one of my favourite tracks on the album. It is rock n roll, a pretty high tempo, and makes me get off my chair and jump the fuck out of this song. Though the intro is acoustic, it moves into heavier electric guitar swiftly and boy, does it rock! Again, nailed it with the melody here.

Use Your Words opens and closes with that tinkle of a song from the older times, almost like a nursery rhyme for adults. But, oh, does it get dark or what! And, Let’s get drunk and write down the truth, You know, I’m quite the liar when I’m sober, is a universal truth and says a lot very simply. And that is what the song is about, isn’t it? Use Your Words is a plea to just fucking say it, and that applies to the entire world.

Image Courtesy: Spud in the Box's Facebook, Image Credit: Parizad D

Headrush is my favourite track on the album. It starts like poetry; soft, mellow and mildly melancholic, it ever so slowly rises like the sun in slo-mo. It befriends and unfriends melody, but even when unfriended the song truly stands strong and makes me move. The end, boy, the way it elevates to that zone where it sounds like a damn fun song, yet keeps its melancholy intact, in fact increasing it; just beautiful.

After that genius of a track, Highs & Lows comes in to maintain that. It has got a great vibe! Though, not at par with the best in the album, but this proper alternative rock song holds up really well and keeps the expectations from the rest of the album intact. There’s a line in this song which is beautiful - Because when answers aren’t related to the questions asked, You’ve got to look behind a different mask for your clues. Man, that hits home.

Hold Your Horses has a sick solo, BTW. But, rushing to it doesn’t justify the strength of the solo. The way the song builds up, slowly picking up pieces, gathering strength as it progresses is incredible. The result is great, like a bouquet of all things nice with chemical X.

Lead Feet is more of a prelude to Paper Shoes than it is a song. The acoustic track moves ever so mellow as a build up to Paper Shoes, yet never truly building up in itself. And after a nice pause,Paper Shoes begins with its beat. Hebe Morwenna has provided the female vocal parts on this one, and damn, she sings like a dream. Her honey-like voice compliments Rohan’s voice beautifully. Though, this is not my favourite on the track, I love the feel and vibe it creates. Slightly melancholic, yet not sad; peppy, yet not truly happy.

Manic is probably the most melodious track on the album for me. It is straight up, in your face, alternative rock, and fuck, I love it! It has its intricate moments, yes, but it still retains its simplicity and I really like that about it. Like its name, it does go crazy, but in a supremely good way. The guitar effects in the bridge are something Jimmy Page would be proud of. They fit the whole feel of the song really well, and add another layer of beauty to it!

When I listened to Until We Fall, I suddenly discovered that I wanted all albums to end that way. It is a beautiful goodbye from an incredible album. I actually wish people said goodbye that gently, softly, lovingly, yet hauntingly. Haunting because it hurts that the album is over. Good thing these are digital files and it repeats automatically.  

Lastly, congratulations on a kickass album. I hope everyone buys it, enjoys it, loves and hates it, dances and grooves to it, breaks things to it, makes out to it. Because it is one of those albums which can just about fit any situation in life. 

And I will catch you guys live whenever you perform next in Bombay. But, hey, crazy idea. Let’s sit down and chat as if we are old friends and not new?

And hey, have fun, drink and dance. You have truly created a masterpiece of a debut album. You deserve it.

Cheers.

courtesy: https://www.wishberry.in/blog/the-letter-spud-in-the-boxs-lead-feet-paper-shoes-feels-like-home/?utm_content=buffera9671&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer