—————————————————— Paris Falls Has A Winner With Reverse Mirror Image | Rocks Off | Houston | Houston Press | The Leading Independent News Source in Houston, Texas

Houston Music

Paris Falls Has A Winner With Reverse Mirror Image

It's very, very hard to talk about Paris Falls' latest CD, Reverse Mirror Image, without using a plethora of adjectives that have already been painted in bright letters across reviews of their first three albums.

They are still the living embodiment of everything that made pop music awesome in the 1970s, especially the more glam-pop goody bits though they haven't lost any of their flair for the more psychedelic moments in their music. True, Reverse Mirror Image is less Pink Floydian than their previous work, and seems to fall in the legendary sunken continent between Roxy Music and Weezer, but longtime fans of the band should have absolutely no complaints at all over the content.

What you end up with is a very solid nine-song album that balances well between a light pop fare with notes of more experimental and profound flavors in their music. Raymond and Jennifer Brown are like one of those chain-guns in action films that never run out of bullets, except in this case the bullets are funked-up guitar licks and plaintive vocal melodies.

Each shot hits the listener perfectly, at a pace that rarely stumbles. Far too many bands who enjoy the jam will continue a song long after it's over, but Paris Falls rarely succumbs to this particular sin. Instead, their longer compositions have a patterned, chamber-music quality rather than overly enthusiastic noodly competitions.

It's the shortest song on the album, though, that is the real standout. "It's a Charade" clocks in at just more than two minutes, but it feels like a never-ending epic soundtrack moment. Listening to it makes you wander exactly what kind of awesome indie movie you've wandered into the trailer for.

KEEP THE HOUSTON PRESS FREE... Since we started the Houston Press, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Houston, and we'd like to keep it that way. With local media under siege, it's more important than ever for us to rally support behind funding our local journalism. You can help by participating in our "I Support" program, allowing us to keep offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food and culture with no paywalls.
Jef Rouner (not cis, he/him) is a contributing writer who covers politics, pop culture, social justice, video games, and online behavior. He is often a professional annoyance to the ignorant and hurtful.
Contact: Jef Rouner