Paper Lions

Following Paper Lions' afternoon set, I looked over my notes and found: "adorably scruffy PEI folk rock infused with early Weezer's whimsy and Vampire Weekend's winking erudition." After rereading it, I thought, "Is there anyway I can make that note lamer and more unjustifiably pretentious?" Nope. Moreover, the ill-advised scrawling hardly captured the band's shaggy charisma, all-in unity and deceptively sophisticated songwriting. Benefitting from the casual setting, the combo excitedly road-tested new cuts, tweaking structures and giving segments an inclusive practice-space feel. Conversely, older tracks were decidedly polished, melding piano romps, choral chant-alongs and incisive guitar melodies. Regardless of the laid-back room, highlights "Lost the War," "Don't Touch That Dial" and "Sweat It Out" still played huge. As it turns out, there's never been a more apropos name in the history of indie rock.