by Patrick Daul (@patrickdaul425)
Can music be sentimental without sounding saccharine? Can you write playful but not overly precious guitar tunes? How much twee is too much twee? For decades, elegantly packaged quartets from around the globe have attempted to walk this tightrope, with both beloved and frustrating results. Enter ascendant Texas band Paper Jam, who may have solved this riddle with a collection of pop hooks armored with the right amount of grit.
The quartet was founded by friends Natalia De la Cruz and Natalie Winkler in Denton, an artsy college town just a short drive north of Dallas-Fort Worth. Since 2024, they’ve self-recorded their debut This And That, with limited touring outside their region. In terms of a music scene, Denton punches above its weight class while representing too low a ceiling for the likes of Paper Jam. The time was right for the group to hit the road and properly re-release their debut on the always-dependable combo of Perennial and K Records.
Opener “Polka Dot Girl” brings an immediacy that hints at Paper Jam’s interest in punk music, but their inviting pop sheen and conversational lyricism keep things breezy. “Lovely Girl” really bops, with Cecilia Case-Hernandez (bass) and Taylor Rivers (drums) laying a tight foundation for the rolling guitar licks and plush atmospherics. There’s enough fuzz and density for these songs to appeal to dream-pop or even shoegaze fans, especially with Winkler’s lovely vocals. These songs are entirely devoid of stodgy intros or excessive instrumentation, but there are plenty of accents that keep things sonically dynamic. With tiny synth blips and that unmistakable guitar echo, “Roaming Eyes” could soundtrack a record shopping montage from an 80s flick.
The intro on “Never Know” epitomizes whimsy, with an ear-worm-y keyboard jingle that stays with you long after the song ends. Even with strong dedication to their jangle-pop genre explorations, Paper Jam’s Texas surroundings find their way into these songs. “This And That” has just enough twang in Mason Blair’s guitar intro that you can picture the dusty roads traveled to get to Dallas and Austin gigs. “Ojos de Luneta,” with vocals delivered entirely in Spanish, channels the band’s sense of place in crafting the album’s most romantic balladry.
This And That ends with the charming, if uneven, jams “Tattle Tale” and “Everybody.” The experience is derailed slightly by the use of sound effects (quacking, barking, and honking). It’s a little too slapstick for the otherwise beguiling tone of the record, but the timeless vibe and strong songwriting win out. With a concise runtime and little-to-no nonsense, the album excels within the parameters set by a still-very-young group. The way these songs are presented is both tactile and crisp, which makes This And That fit for deep or passive listening, but listener beware of some of these particularly sticky melodies.
A decade and a half earlier, Paper Jam would have been scooped up by a label like Captured Tracks and tasked with opening for Dum Dum Girls or Best Coast, but the 2026 rock and pop scenes are navigated differently, and bands with this sound don’t always fit neatly into one scene. Fortunately, Paper Jam have found the right home in Perennial / K Records. With bands like Sharp Pins and Good Flying Birds, there’s a renewed interest in the twee and sophistipop aesthetic, even if the Belle and Sebastian-obsessed cohort aren’t always in the market for up-and-comers. The members of Paper Jam have a strong proof of concept to make their case.