Paper Beat Scissors is the moniker of Lancashire-born, Montreal-based Tim Crabtree, who, on his forthcoming EP La Mitad (out at the end of April), is singing in neither English nor French, but Spanish.
Today he has shared a new song from the EP called “Formas”. He says it’s about “the knots we tie ourselves in, the messes we get ourselves in, but lay at another’s door, particularly in the realm of relationships.”
“Formas” translates to ‘shapes’ or ‘forms’, and Paper Beat Scissors uses his glistening song to explore the ways we’re asked re-form and contort ourselves to try to accommodate the feelings of others, and how sometimes that’s not possible, or causes pain both internally and externally. Even without fully understanding the words, “Formas” is a deeply emotional song, as Crabtree’s delicate voice soars gracefully over his ever-burgeoning soundscape. His voice is rich with deeply resonant lamentations, and is emboldened by the gradual implementation of brass, drums sparkling piano, and pedal steel, which take his forlorn pleas up to the heavens, as if he’s begging for forgiveness. By the end of “Formas” we feel emotionally invested, and send our own wishes skyward with his ascendant musical magic.
Watch the video by Derek Branscombe below, or find the song on streaming platforms.
Paper Beat Scissors La Mitad EP comes out on April 30 via Forward Music Group (pre-order on Bandcamp). You can find him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
