A band from Seattle, The Purrs have a rich 10-year musical history, marked by appearances at Bumbershoot and MidPoint music festivals, weekend coast-to-coast jaunts to play CMJ, national tours, broken-down vans, a song featured on the HBO series Californication, heavy rotation on influential radio stations such as KEXP, WOXY, and SIRIUS, and hundreds of gigs with such talents as Okkervil River, A Place To Bury Strangers, The Wrens, Jesse Sykes, Holy ****, and Film School.
Tearing Down Paisley Garden is the band’s sixth release. This recording is another pop masterpiece, with alluring vocals, perfectly layered guitars, and unforgettable hooks and harmonies—everything that is great about The Purrs.
Tearing Down Paisley Garden was taken from the opening lyrics of “Pie In The Sky,” a song about townhouses, shopping malls, and landfills—ironic hallmarks of so-called progress in our modern times.
“The lyrical themes in this release are about knocking old things down and replacing them with new,” says Jima. “There are consequences of confusing ‘new’ with ‘better’. Oh yeah, and heartache is a bitch.”
This release spans a wide range of dynamics, from the nearly unhinged intensity of opening track “Only Dreaming” (a cover of the 80s hit by Red Lorry, Yellow Lorry) to the melancholy resignation of “I’m Slipping.” Fans will appreciate new recordings of “Just A Little More” and “It Could Be So Wonderful,” often played at live shows, but previously only available on a rare early demo. The disc closes with “I Move Around” (a cover from legendary country singer Lee Hazlewood) and “Always Something In My Way,” whose psychedelic groove provides a backdrop for one last lamentation about the futility of it all.
The Purrs will celebrate their 10th anniversary touring the West Coast, and have already started working on their next full-length recording.
