Legendary Wings – Making Paper Roses

Kalamazoo native powerpop group Legendary Wings got lucky. In a turn of events almost unheard of, the band sent an unsolicited demo to Dirtnap Records and got signed. Their LP Making Paper Roses is their first full length record, and delivers sixteen tracks of generic but fun pop punk. Fuzzier and grittier than many of their labelmates, Legendary Wings seems to be an appropriate addition to Dirtnap’s lineup.

The album opens up with the track Nachos that begins with a catchy bass line and leads into a fast poppy song, matching the tempo and style of every subsequent song. The production on this album is very low-fi, giving off a very garage-band feeling that is endearing and works for this group. The major detrament of this however, is singer Scott Terrian is almost impossible to hear. Tracks like Time and Seeing Wallsare the best example. For someone who is interested in learning and listening to lyrics, this album requires a lot of work. His voice does seem fitting and very familiar for the genre, like a cross between Kevin Seconds and Goldfinger’s John Feldmann, though it seems like it may need a little work. That is, unless they were looking for an off-key and strained sound during songs like Pure and I Think I’m Dumb.

I wish I had more to say about this album, but damn-near ever track sounds exactly the same. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing, and is especially common for this style of pop-punk. Though Legendary Wings deliver a fun album in Making Paper Roses, the band fails to become memorable for me, and the record will likely not make it into my usual rotation. However, if you are a fan of your brother’s friend’s garage band, Making Paper Roses will probably be the perfect addition to your LP collection.