Twelvefour

Twelvefour (marketed as twelvefour) is the second album by Australian band The Paper Kites, released on 28 August 2015 by Wonderlick Entertainment and Sony Music Australia.[1][2] The album's release was preceded by lead single "Electric Indigo", released on 19 June 2015.[3] Its video, directed by Matthew J Cox, was released on 13 July.[4] The second single, "Revelator Eyes", followed in September with a video directed by Dan Huiting.[5] "Renegade", the third single, was released along with a video in April 2016.

twelvefour
Studio album by The Paper Kites
Released	28 August 2015
Recorded	March–April 2015
Studio	Avast! Recording Company and Hall of Justice (Seattle, Washington)
Genre	Indie rock folk rock
Length	43:30
Label	Wonderlick Sony Music Nettwerk
Producer	Phil Ek
The Paper Kites chronology
States (2013) twelvefour (2015) On the Train Ride Home (2018)
Singles from twelvefour
"Electric Indigo" Released: 19 June 2015 "Revelator Eyes" Released: 20 September 2015 "Renegade" Released: 11 April 2016 "Too Late" Released: December 2016

The album was written entirely between the hours of midnight and 4 a.m.[1] due to the creativity lead singer and songwriter Sam Bentley felt arise during this time.[3][6] For this reason, it has been referred to as a concept album.[1] The album was then recorded in Seattle with American producer Phil Ek over six weeks in March and April 2015. The band chose Ek to create a more upbeat sound compared to their previous releases,[3] incorporating electric guitars and synthesizers into their music.[7]

twelvefour debuted at number 8 on the Australian ARIA Albums Chart on 5 September 2015.[8] The band embarked on a tour of Australia from 16 October to 8 November 2015 in support of the album.[9] They then toured the United States and Canada across November and December 2015,[7] and Europe in January and February 2016. A film directed by Cox depicting the process of making the album was announced for release later in 2015,[3] but has yet to surface.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
The AU Review	9.5/10[10]
The Music	[11]
News.com.au	[12]
PPcorn	(positive)[13]
Renowned for Sound	[14]
Rolling Stone Australia	[15]
Vulture Magazine	(positive)[16]

Gareth Hipwell of Rolling Stone Australia gave the album three out of five stars and felt "Revelator Eyes" sounded as if "The muses of the witching hour [...] have breathed some hazy Eighties nostalgia" into Bentley's songwriting.[15] However, Hipwell criticised his often "insubstantial lyrics".[15] The AU Review called the album a "fluid progression of sounds and ideas" as well as "[h]ypnotic, whimsical and otherworldly".[10] Jessica Morris of the US-based website PPcorn deemed the album "[c]omplex and delicate" as well as "profound".[13]

Michael Smith of Renowned for Sound gave the album a perfect score of 5 out of 5 stars, opining that the change to an upbeat style was a "logical evolution" of the band's sound, and commended "Bentley's consistently moving vocals to the sheer quality of the guitar riffs that give the songs their power".[14] Sara Tamim of Vulture Magazine was "fabulously yet not surprisingly impressed" by the band's second album; she also remarked positively on the interchange of styles and the "new, flurry sound with intergalactic guitar vibes" of opening track "Electric Indigo".[16]

In a 4 out of 5 stars review, Roshan Clarke of The Music labelled the album a "gorgeous listening experience" and expressed that the "glowing album cover and moody track names like 'Electric Indigo' reflect th[e] nocturnal theme [of the record], but the warm instrumentation transcends any particular time of day".[11] Writing for News.com.au, Mikey Cahill judged that the album is primarily devoid of egos—"what you hear is what you get".[12] Rating the album 3 out of 5 stars, Cahill went on to state that the band sound "calm and delirious" on "Bleed Confusion" and that "Woke Up from a Dream" is "timeless Americana".[12]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Sam Bentley; all music is composed by The Paper Kites.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Electric Indigo"	3:43
2.	"Renegade"	3:55
3.	"Bleed Confusion"	4:21
4.	"Revelator Eyes"	4:22
5.	"Neon Crimson"	4:23
6.	"I'm Lying to You Cause I'm Lost"	3:32
7.	"A Silent Cause"	4:23
8.	"Woke Up from a Dream"	4:45
9.	"Turns Within Me, Turns Without Me"	3:53
10.	"Too Late"	6:13

Personnel

Credits adapted from album liner notes.[17]

The Paper Kites

• Josh Bentley – drums, percussion
• Sam Bentley – lead vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, harmonica, keyboards, writing and design
• Christina Lacy – harmony vocals, guitars
• David Powys – backing vocals, banjo, lap steel
• Sam Rasmussen – bass guitar, synthesizer

Technical personnel

• Greg Calbi – mastering
• Phil Ek – engineering, mixing and production
• Cameron Nicklaus – assistant engineer

Artwork

• Mark Bentley – design for twelvefour sign
• Jackson Grant – photography
• Jefferton James – artwork editing, design and layout

Charts

Chart (2015)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[8]	8
Australian Artist Albums (ARIA)[18]	1

References

1. "JB Hi-Fi | twelvefour PAPER KITES, THE". JB Hi-Fi. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
2. "twelvefour by The Paper Kites on iTunes". Apple Inc. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
3. "The Paper Kites – Album Number Two". The Paper Kites. 19 June 2015. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
4. "The Paper Kites – Electric Indigo (Official Music Video)". The Paper Kites on YouTube. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
5. "The Paper Kites – Revelator Eyes (Official Video)". The Paper Kites on YouTube. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
6. Williams, Tom (19 June 2015). "The Paper Kites Announce New Album 'Twelvefour' – Music News, Reviews, Interviews and Culture – Music Feeds". Music Feeds. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
7. "The Paper Kites – The Paper Kites Announce North America/Canada Tour". The Paper Kites. 24 August 2015. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
8. "Australiancharts.com – The Paper Kites – twelvefour". Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
9. "The Paper Kites – The Paper Kites Video + Australian Tour". The Paper Kites. 14 July 2015. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
10. Macdonald, Emmylou (24 August 2015). "Album Review: The Paper Kites – Twelvefour (2015) | the AU review". The AU Review. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
11. Clarke, Roshan (19 August 2015). "The Paper Kites twelvefour Roshan Clarke theMusic.com.au | Australia's Premier Music News & Reviews Website". The Music. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
12. Adams, Cameron & Cahill, Mikey (10 September 2015). "Latest Album Reviews: Duran Duran, Stereophonics, The Paper Kites, Natalie Imbruglia & Jarryd James". News.com.au. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
13. Morris, Jessica (27 August 2015). "The Paper Kites: 'twelvefour' Track-By-Track Album Review". PPcorn. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
14. Smith, Michael (3 September 2015). "Renowned for Sound | Album Review: The Paper Kites – twelvefour". Renowned for Sound. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
15. "Rolling Stone Australia — The Paper Kites – twelvefour". Rolling Stone Australia. 25 August 2015. Archived from the original on August 30, 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
16. Tamim, Sara (28 August 2015). "Vulture Magazine – Album Review: The Paper Kites' twelvefour". Vulture Magazine. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
17. twelvefour liner notes (CD). Sony Music Australia, Wonderlick Entertainment. 28 August 2015.
18. "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 7 September 2015" (PDF) (1332). Pandora Archive. 9 September 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2015. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)