Post Paradise has been a staple of the Northern Colorado music scene for several years. Their unique blend of moody alternative rock – notably marked by Amy Morgan’s cello work – make them a stand-out act, but they manage to stay grounded in the contemporary alt-rock genre.
After several releases and shows along their journey, their latest record Lonely Worlds (recorded at The Blasting Room) solidifies their place as high-ranking NoCo musicians, exhibiting their potential as contenders for international acclaim.
The record sings like an opera with the opening track “Take Flight” preparing the listener for take-off with a course set for prog-leaning rock. Nick Duarte’s vocal feels classically influenced too, and the driving track builds along the way, overflowing with emotion, giving a hopeful, powerful post-emo vibe.
The modern-rock, radio-ready “Find Me” has elements of mainstream giants like Shinedown, Three Days Grace and the ballads of Papa Roach. It stays true to Post Paradise’s emotional mood but proves they’re also capable of crossing over into the less indie, more corporate side of today’s rock.
The first single from Lonely Worlds, “Long Way Home” begins like many other Post Paradise compositions; sparse and eerie, but kicks in with a wall of sound that pays homage to Radiohead’s “Paranoid Android.”
The album closes with the modern sailors’ dirge “The Storm,” a folk tale about a mariner’s voyage into a tempest while his longing lover waits. She hears the thunder of an immense storm crashing in the distance, worried that her sailor is meeting his maker. It falls into the Dylan, Gordon Lightfoot territory of storytelling lyrics, but never strays from their signature moody alternative rock aesthetic.
Post Paradise may have already made their mark in Northern Colorado, but Lonely Worlds has laid them on the mantle shared with the greatest in the modern alt-rock genre.
Post Paradise release Lonely Worlds November 15 at Hodi’s Halfnote with Floor Models and Holdfast as support.
