Playing the Bad Guy with Paper Lady on New Single “EVE”
“The song is not so covertly about the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden,” Alli Raina told Wormbrain about otherworldly Boston indie folk outfit Paper Lady’s latest single. Released last month, “EVE” finds the group’s main siren and songwriting pillar sorting through sacred text and sexist convention. “I feel like that story is one of the core texts for negative stereotypes connected to women, such as being overly curious, promiscuous, and weak. This song is Eve responding, saying she will play the bad guy if that’s what everyone wants, but at the end of the day it’s all bullshit.”
“I was actually also inspired learning about Lilith, Adam’s first wife,” Raina continued. “In Judaic mythology, it’s noted that she was banished from Eden for ‘not obeying Adam' — because of this, she’s regarded as the ‘mother of all evil’ or the primordial she-demon. I think she was looked at as a mistake that Eve then corrected — so, I wanted to give Eve a voice that says she’s not weak and obedient, but strong and aware.”
Beyond the biblical, Paper Lady also find spark in the wild and free natural world, as Raina tells us about the single’s structure. “The song is inspired by nature as well, not really following a classic form. It flows naturally from section to section with not much repetition other than some samples of birds I collected while on a hike.”
“Paper Lady originated as one thing and now it’s a project that’s blossomed into something entirely different,” Raina shared with Wormbrain World. “This specific lineup feels right in a way that’s hard to even explain.”
“EVE” follows the band’s 2020 release While You Were Sleeping and some loose early one-off tracks and it’s evident immediately that you’re listening to a highly evolved version of the already primed project. Always before now and still the outlet of Raina’s songwriting, the present and fully settled form of Paper Lady heard here is the result of artistic maturation and trust in ones collaborative community.
Photo courtesy of the artist.
“The pandemic definitely gave me space to step back and reconnect with myself as an artist, and figure out what exactly I wanted from this project. I brought new members in back in August of 2021.”
“Now the band consists of me (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Rowan Martin (lead guitar), Will Davila (background vox, bass), Kenzo Divic (background vox, keys), and Alex Castile (drums). ‘EVE’ and everything we release moving forward were initially started by me, coming up with vocals and guitar part, then brought to the guys and then they would write their parts. They’re all such special people as well as talented musicians.”
“As soon as the five of us played together I think we all knew that we were going to be doing it for a very long time. So I guess with all of that being said, I am the constant throughout both of our releases, but i’m definitely confident in saying — we are Paper Lady, rather than I am Paper Lady.”
This latest Paper Lady lineup and fans alike have much to look forward to this year, as Wormbrain readers were told to be aware of. “We will be releasing a lot more music. We are also working on touring this summer in the U.S. and possibly in Canada, so that’s very exciting as well. We have some shows at some pretty big venues coming up in the summer and fall too!”
And as for fans of screaming? Your time is coming, as Raina jokes about upcoming unreleased Paper Lady songs that local live audiences may have heard before. “There’s some newer stuff that we have been working on thats a bit darker and heavier. I get to scream a bit! It always feels good to do that at live shows, but then we have a bunch of people coming up asking ‘What were the ones you screamed on called?' Definitely want to put that on my playlists’ and I just have to awkwardly say that we are working on putting them out — so, I won’t have to say that anymore soon!”
Not soon enough, in Wormbrain’s opinion, but we’ll be ready when you are!
Photo courtesy of the artist.
“This song is Eve responding, saying she will play the bad guy if that’s what everyone wants, but at the end of the day it’s all bullshit.”
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Paper Lady’s latest single “EVE” was self-released by the band and is now streaming everywhere digitally.
