Released 20th October 2020

Opening to a wall of glorious guitars ‘Falling For A Shooting Star’ is the strong opener which ululates like a ship on a stormy sea. Powered forth by a strong backbeat it’s an addictive number that begs repeat plays. Drawing inspiration from the likes of Del Amitri, Tom Petty and Crowded House there’s a strong focus on song structure and melody and that’s most evident on the tender ‘Closer’. Piecing their sound together from a wide spectrum means that ‘Moment In Time’ is a kaleidoscopic listen with the title track indulging in the white funk of David Bowie.

Bristol has a rich history of alternative bands (of all persuasions) and The Paramount Trip seem set to add their name to that illustrious list. Being armed with strong original tunes like ‘Amelie’ sure won’t hurt them and neither will their hard yet accessible sound. I’m liking the haunting, discombobulating nature of ‘Waking Nightmare’ that drifts from speaker to speaker like a somnambulist and creates a dreamlike state that’s broken the alarm clock tick of ‘Boy Without A Name’.

‘September On My Mind’ follows and cascades like autumnal leaves before the cutting ‘Scar’ leaves a strong impression on your memory bank. Those two dark tracks are tempered by ‘Book Of Days’ which arrives with an acoustic bounce before ‘Dark’ brings down the curtain with a sense of melancholy and foreboding as some stellar, soaring guitar and hammering keys build towards a grandiose finale and caps a perfectly formed debut album

- Alex Novak

Pulse Alternative Magazine