From existentialist daydreams of domesticity to the dull ache of missing a lover, the Paper Kites’s music has always provided comfort for our most uncomfortable times. And the Australian band is no less immune to nostalgia for simpler days than the rest of us on their seventh studio album, If You Go There, I Hope You Find It. Their delicate harmonies, finger-plucked guitars, and Wordsworthian ruminations radiate a lush, bittersweet warmth.
On opener “Morning Gum,” singer Sam Bentley requests that his lover “spare me the news of the day/This world’s bringing me down.” Later, on “When the Lavender Blooms,” he almost sheepishly admits, “I know I keep running/From the good life I was given/And I’m trying…to turn back myself around.” If there’s a thesis statement here, it’s that returning to one’s foundations can be a way forward—that serenity can be found in the eyes of a partner or in the home where you were raised. These aren’t novel observations, but they’re unflappably sincere.
Indeed, the band has described If You Go There, I Hope You Find It as a “coming home”—both literally and figuratively. Their last album, 2023’s At the Roadhouse, was a sprawling 16-track effort, but this time around the Paper Kites have gone back to basics, writing the album’s 10 songs in a rehearsal space at a farm in Melbourne. The result is a comparably stripped-back album brimming with both compassion and a longing for rootedness that nevertheless occasionally feels formally—and emotionally—stunted.
Co-producer Matt Redlich and mixer Jonathan Low keep the instrumentation vivid and tightly spaced, letting soft banjo lines and reverbed strings add richness to Bentley’s already sumptuous voice. The big-bellied hook on “Every Town” makes the song an instant highlight, while the acoustic ballad “Deep (In the Plans We Made)” feels just as immediate. Bentley’s strength as a vocalist is knowing how to express the big feelings in his lyrics by underplaying his delivery, and the group’s signature harmonies add a welcome brightness to his mumblecore musings.
Still, there’s a safeness to the album that dulls some of its depth of feeling. The central melody of the bluesy “Shake Off the Rain,” for one, is too static, and Bentley’s impressionistic lyrics on tracks like “Stormwall” and “Borne By You” can feel twee and repetitive.
Past efforts like 2014’s Twelvefour and 2021’s Roses proved that the Paper Kites are capable of wringing resonance out of difficult moments while simultaneously expanding the scope of who they are as artists. If You Go There, I Hope You Find It may reaffirm the band’s introspective identity, but it stops short of pushing their sonic palette forward.
Since 2001, we've brought you uncompromising, candid takes on the world of film, music, television, video games, theater, and more. Independently owned and operated publications like Slant have been hit hard in recent years, but we’re committed to keeping our content free and accessible—meaning no paywalls or fees.
If you like what we do, please consider subscribing to our Patreon or making a donation.
Long time fan of the band, listened through the album and I think this is a great review. It resonates a lot more than their previous, but do think they found some of their best stuff on those prior more experimental albums. Still a lot of love here, well done to the band