FRACT/ONS Review

Scandal, Scandal, Scandal Down in the Wheat Field is Paper Airplanes' sophomore release. The album refines the sound the band coined in their first album, Boyhood, elaborating on their orchestrally-infused prog rock. Scandal, Scandal, Scandal reads like a Midwestern storybook. From the theatrical opening of "Prologue" to the disillusioned end, "Echolalia," the album tells the story of a murder in the small town of Belovedaire. John Michael, our killer, is worried that he will be caught for his crime. But in "John Michael" he concocts a plan toward freedom: blame the only black guy in town.

Scandal, Scandal, Scandal has its tongue firmly pressed in its cheek lyrically from songs like "White Anglo Saxon Protestant" to "An Account of Surprising Accuracy Given the Messenger" and "Killer Goes to College," which sports lyrics like "There's people in this world that deserve the treatment that they get / There's people in this world that deserve better, and we deserve better." In the same song John Michael's parents entertain the idea that he might "not make university," saying, "I don't know about you, but I can't handle that!" The songs all play their part in the story while remaining their individual musical credibility. "Debutantes/The Town is Ablaze!" even throws in a hint of Faulkner, brining the town into focus; "Gossip is a science for a pair of the world's finest debutantes."

Even for those who don't fancy theatrics (myself included), Scandal, Scandal, Scandal delivers a remarkably complete mix of music and story. The orchestration and structure are commendable, and from the falsetto on "John Michael" to the slightly distorted croon on "Luckbite," Marcus Stoesz's distinctive, enunciated voice gives life to the songs. 

Recommended for fans of The Arcade Fire, Built to Spill, The Flaming Lips.

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It may surprise some that Paper Airplanes, a three-to-six-piece, hails from Wichita, KS, not Montreal or Athens, GA. Never mind the plains are home to The Flaming Lips, to which Paper Airplanes has loosely been compared. The closest comparison we could find in the plains states is to a tornado, for the band can certainly pick up and toss around whatever instrument they wish and whip up a helluva storm when they’re in the mood. Their music can be likened to a cross between early-Built to Spill, the range and audaciousness of The Arcade Fire, the organic sensibilities of Ticonderoga and the playful abandon of Deerhoof.

Visit the group's Myspace.

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