ABOUT PAPERBACKS

Paperbacks is an indie pop band based in southern Minnesota, helmed by Minneapolis tunesmith Sven-Erik Olsen (vocals & guitar), whose melodic, jangly Beatlesque pop gems are brought to life by keyboardist Julie Sweet, bassist Michael Brewer Carina, and drummer Dan Greenwood. 

The Paperbacks’ story begins in the small town of Owatonna, Minnesota, where Olsen and Greenwood met in middle school and began exploring their wide-ranging musical obsessions: Hüsker Dü, Tears for Fears, Sonic Youth, Neil Young, The Who, you name it.  They played under countless monikers over the years, putting out records under the names Tuesday’s Lifted and The Pundits around the turn of the century, recording with the legendary Bob Weston in Chicago, playing festivals and dive bars and living the dream. In 2005, Olsen started a family and Dan left to tour with Cloud Cult and go to grad school. Eventually they hooked back up to record Olsen’s solo album Sketchbook Traces in 2017. It was lauded for its “deft take on the dreamy mid-late 60s pop sound” (Aiding and Abetting, 9/28/17), earning comparisons to the likes of Big Star, The Beach Boys and The Velvet Underground. They brought in the multitalented Carina shortly thereafter and in the fall of 2019 began collaborating with fellow Owatonna native Sweet, whose keyboards added a rich, classically-informed dimension to Olsen’s multi-faceted repertoire. 

Over decades of writing and performing music, Olsen has developed a remarkable ability to merge his intellectual understanding of songcraft with the deep, emotional inspirations of his unconscious. As stated to Aldora Britain Records: “The music comes first. I write in guitar tunings of my own invention and search for different fingerings for each song in order to avoid repeating myself. The novel tunings and chords trigger harmonies and chord progressions not usually discovered in standard tuning. Nick Drake, Joni Mitchell, Sonic Youth, My Bloody Valentine, all of them achieve unique sounds through this technique. As for lyrics, they start as vague murmurs, syllables that work with the melody until they subconsciously turn into actual words, then lines, then verses and ultimately a song mysteriously emerges. I’m drawn to themes with some drama to them: lost love, mortality, existential dread, but I generally couch them in dreamlike imagery that is open to interpretation.”

Paperbacks became a going concern after a one-off gig in Owatonna in the spring of 2022 led them to consider extending their collaboration. The quartet began touring the midwest and after developing their distinctive repertoire, entered Creation Studios in the spring of 2023 to record their debut album, due in late 2024. The songs therein showcase their range: “Feels Magnetic” channels the widescreen feels of The Who’s early 70s anthems; “Suddenly Aglow” bathes a Nick Drake-inspired chamber folk melody in Sweet’s ethereal Enoesque synths; “I Found the Other Way” is a sparkling power pop masterclass; “Sky Is Suspended” marries a sea shanty feel to a visionary exhortations; “Maria and the Clouds Move In” couches a folk horror lyric to Latin-tinged rhythms; “Eternal High” hints at Radiohead interpreting a lost McCartney gem.  The effervescent lead single “Cinder Hill,” with its nods to bossa nova and psychedelic pop, will be released in September of 2024.

Contact us:

paperbackstheband@gmail.com