“Paper Trails” is a cerebrally seductive offering from Nicolas Jaar and Dave Harrington, it will feature on their forthcoming LP Psychic, which can be streamed in full here.
The track sees a contemplative Jaar croon in an introspective and lugubrious manner over Harrington’s adroit instrumentation. The two artists truly bring out a scintillating quality in each other and perhaps possess one of the most important abilities as a duo, restraint. Not to say the piece turns in on itself and dissipates, it builds in a rather swaggered manner and culminates in an achingly beautiful bout of auditory catharsis. Complimenting the track as a whole are Jaar’s production flourishes which are seemingly ingenuous at first but upon further listening prove to be meticulous in fashion. A studied example would be the rather simple but fascinating use of pitch modulation on Jaar’s voice, layering the primary vocal with a downshifted baritone, lending him a sultry quality. I eagerly await the final product of this collaboration.
9/10
Psychic is out on the 8th of October on Other People
