Papa vs. Pretty

Papa Vs Pretty are young, but that’s not why you know them. They’re gifted, they’re genuine, they’re gutsy.

The band evolved when Thomas Rawle recorded hundreds of demos in his bedroom, but it all clicked when two equally talented others saw strength in what was brewing. Angus Gardiner came to the party with skills on bass and a wealth of classical music knowledge and Tom Myers proved a rhythmical force to be reckoned with – securing a three piece that got Sydney talking.

Grabbing the attention of Triple J, street press and the interwebs alike – they also scored several support slots for bands such as The Temper Trap, Phoenix, Silversun Pickups and Surfer Blood, a handful of festival slots (Big Day Out, St Jeromes Laneway Festival, Parklife and Pyramid Rock) and upon hitting the age of 18, released a self titled EP in 2009 through EMI.

In August 2010 the band released Heavy Harm, an EP produced by Paul Dempsey, scoring high rotation across Triple J and community radio and then talk kept coming. They’ve gigged the Sydney scene many times over, and with their well honed and potent live show graduated to a couple of national tours with the Howling Bells, Paul Dempsey and more recently a double headline with Brisbane locals Last Dinosaurs.

For their first full length release United In Isolation, Papa VS Pretty returned to Big Jesus Burger studios, surrounding themselves with several old hands who helped shape this acutely energetic, authentic and heartfelt collection of songs into a cohesive record. Paul McKercher (You Am I, Augie March, Sarah Blasko) produced, and the album was mixed by Scott Horscroft (The Presets, Silverchair, The Sleepy Jackson).

It’s powerful, it’s punchy but above all else it’s honest. Rawle describes this as having hints of a concept album – a realisation that the tracks in many ways depict the cyclical nature of human interaction as seen through a rather heightened self awareness. “The album works in an arc too, almost like a relationship, it starts out with an immense amount of energy "Life's Got A Hold On Me", optimistic in the middle with songs like "Honey" then conquest "Conquistador" - one half always wins. ‘I Felt Nothing’ for falling out of love, then it ends with ‘You Are Not In Love Anymore’, which is pretty self explanatory I would hope!”

The first single off the record, "One Of the Animals" is currently on rotation at Triple J and a national tour is in the works for June / July of this year to coincide with the release.