Review:'Paper Kites, The' 'If You Go There, I Hope You Find It'
- Label: 'Nettwerk Music Group'
- Genre: 'Folk'
- Release Date: '23rd January 2026'
Our Rating:
Sometimes, you don’t know what you need until you find it. This is true of the seventh album by Australian low-key, slow-tempo indie act The Paper Kites. It’s gentle, it’s mellow, even despite the occasional swirl of guitar feedback and ripping sonic roar. They may hail from Australia, but ‘If You Go There, I Hope You Find It’ is a work of folksy Americana through and through, from the acoustic-led opener, ‘Morning Gum’, with it’s laid-back, sleepy-sounding drawling vocals, to ‘Change of the Wind’ , an easy, breezy, slice of chilled-out country, which is fairly typical of this accessible, melodic set of tunes. Something about ‘Every Town’ brings hints of David Gray’s ‘Babylon’, and that’s no bad thing.
There was a time in the mid-00s where every pub and bar in York had live music nights, and nearly every act was performing blues or Americana. Admittedly, it did get tired after a while, but there’s no denying that it provided a soundtrack to period of my life – and this takes me back to that. Music does that: it evokes, it conjures, it touches us in unexpected ways, whether its nostalgic or triggering a feeling which had been lying dormant somewhere inside.
The vibe is wistful, the feel not quite kitchen sink, but very much grounded, based in life and its humdrum nature. It’s one of those albums you have to actively listen to, or it will simply drift past. It’s nice, and right now, in a world of noise and turmoil, to discover an album that’s soft and sedate in just the right way means that ‘If You Go There, I Hope You Find It’ is nothing short of an oasis.
