Release Description:
Entitled ‘Songs Of Innocnce’, Red Paper Dragon’s debut release is a sprawling forty-five minute opus that is based loosely on the journey, as envisaged by William Blake, from innocence to experience and back once again to a state of innocence.

Recorded predominantly live at Crazy Cat Sound in Exeter, the individual dynamics within the five leviathan songs that comprise the release combine to form a uniformly progressive experience. From the darker tones of the first three tracks to the uplifting climax of the two final tracks ‘Songs Of Innocence’ is a release with many subtle layers.

The stunning digital artwork was provided by Justin Amphlett (www.300dpi.co.uk) who has worked with Destructive Recordings and Pitch Black Records. The iconic emotive photography is by Catherine Boon (www.catherineboon.com), who is an exciting emerging photographer from Brighton with published work in ‘Succour’, a journal for new fiction and poetry.

Format: CD Only

Packaging: Jewel case with 8-page booklet

Availability: Available:

Press:

Sonicfrontiers
Red Paper Dragon is certainly a surprise. Imagine, if you will, what Pelican might sound like with a decent singer. That would be a good place to start from when talking about this band; however, there is so much more going on here. Songs of Innocence is a five song collection that certainly left me wanting to hear more from this band.

The opening track “Polar Bear” opens the EP innocently enough with quiet guitar reminiscent of Mogwai or perhaps Explosions in the Sky. When the guitars kick in, the song really lifts off. The next few sections are very much like a lost ISIS track with the gigantic guitars kicking and then spiraling down into a tense, quieter part only to come roaring back in to come to an abrupt halt.

“If Not Now, When?” rolls out of the end of the previous track with four minutes or so of steadily increasing dynamics, as if setting a mood for an unseen film. The track continues to build and switch gears, shifting tempos and feels many times without losing cohesiveness.

The middle track, “Fear of Falling,” picks up the pace with Red Paper Dragon exhibiting a Helmet-like sound with a start-stop riff sure to bring back memories of the early 90’s. They manage to pull it off without sounding dated or like they lifted the riff straight from any one tune. “Fear of Falling” soon lumbers its way to a quiet, contemplative midsection rife with clean guitars, laid back drums and a withdrawn, lonely feel. Just when the feel seems to be wearing thin, the guitars crash back in, propelling the song onwards to the end.

“…Happens for a Reason” hearkens back to the sound of early 90’s bands with the long, quiet intro that ends up being half the song. Once the tune kicks in, it then proceeds to shift and change, making excellent use of dynamics. “Tidal” rounds out this EP another long, quiet intro that leads up to a very Pelican-like heavy groove.

Red Paper Dragon is definitely a band to keep an eye on if you’re into sonic soundscapes and swirling imagery to films that don’t even exist. This is not an indie band nor is it a heavy band. This is just damn good music.

Kronic.it (translated from italian)
"Sound Devastation records had already grabbed our attention with the production of two great albums, i.e. debut albums by From the Sky and The Pirate Ship Quintet. There is now a new addition, Red Paper Dragon, a British group working with soundscapes, cared for in detail, and overflowing instrumental sessions.

Too metallic to be considered indie but also too "distilled" to be considered heavy metal, the Dragons offer a series of interesting starting points. First of all, in contrast to their fellow bands of the label, they do not disdain the use of vocals as a further means for creating long introductory sections: 'If not now, when?' is a perfect example of this, combining silk and steel for a piece that is not far from Oceansize's best repertoire. There are also continual changes in direction within one piece, like in the slow but constant evolutions of 'Fear of Falling' where time seems to stop halfway before circling heavily back on itself.

Alternating foil and saber, the 5 pieces let shine through talent that is uncommon in a (musical) scene which every year risks extinction: from today, post rock has found new promises to count on for the future"