During the height of the pandemic in 2020, two friends based in Nashville traveled to a childhood home and created music; the result was Paperboat and the fantastic ten-track album Big Tent. The duo, Jacob Milstein and Mick Khoury, come from differing musical backgrounds (folk-groove songwriter and performer, and a musical improviser, respectively). But their worlds collide and even triumphantly complement each other. The home in question is Milstein's childhood home in Norman, Oklahoma. The album is rather poignantly and endearingly dedicated to their moms, such a refreshing message in a largely pretentious industry.
Big Tent is a grandiose affair akin to a theatre troupe with folk, indie, pop and jazz influences. Think the theatrical nature of Queen, merged with Simon and Garfunkel's musical kinship and Billy Joel’s Tin Pan Alley and Broadway melodies. Quite the deadly mixture!! The album is about a grand show happening inside a tent, a world inside the rest of the world, filled with enthusiasm, fear, and love, and such a unique concept really allows you to enter the unique world of Milstein and Khoury. You can straight away sense the pride and dominion the two have over the record, as they played every instrument (mostly, Milstein played the guitar, bass, and vocals. And Khoury played the piano, drums, horns and vocals on “Mom," "Cradle" and" Sorry In Advance” with the two dueting on "Do You Have The Same Thoughts As Me?"), as well as mixing the album almost entirely on their own. Such blood, sweat and tears into an artistic project, is conveyed in the synchronous and even telepathic connection the duo have with the project. Album highlights come in the form of tracks, "Me & My Girl,” "Downtown" and “If She Could See Me Now,” which see the duo at the apex of chemistry and confidence in their craft. But every track has a hidden beauty to it with the heavy ethos of vulnerability, melancholy and optimism, even in the darkest of places prevalent throughout. Such honest, idealistic and equitable qualities are strikingly beautiful in any artistic feat, and in Big Tent is screaming out and empowers the record with its warm and relatable character from start to finish. I can't wait to hear more of Paperboat as their notable connection grows and develops with time.
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