Nowadays it seems as if big rock voices are few and far between. Ditto with regard to supporting players who have the ability match the pomp and circumstance of a charismatic, if not over-the-top, lead singer. On the very first downbeat of this Philly-based quintet’s rock operatic debut EP, those aforementioned concerns evaporate. Singer/ pianist Chris Manglos serves up a soaring vocal melody worthy of Broadway (or Wembley Stadium) in the rollicking waltz “We Are Nations Now” - and that’s just the beginning. Papertrigger are all about grandiosity - classically inspired piano interludes, orchestral arrangements, cinematic guitar motifs, and, beneath it all, a pounding and flexible rhythm section. “Fox Hunting,” with its Lennon-esque pathos and a time-tested descending chord pattern that’s worked for everybody from Willie Dixon to Alicia Keys, is the clincher here as Manglos moves from a full-throated yowl to a bone-chilling falsetto. Though Riot Lovers is only five tracks, its scope is breath-taking. ‘Twas a time when rock stars were larger than life - maybe it’s that time again.
--Tom Semioli
