“Playground Dreams” is a very infectious track from Paper Days, an indie-rock group out of sunny California with touches of garage-rock and post-punk. The latter two stylistic influences are particularly present in the dexterous guitars, which build from shimmering arpeggios to an anthemic three-headed attack in the fantastic chorus, where the contagious arpeggio is complemented by heavy rhythms, furious percussion, and college-radio-ready vocals that add naturally to the hook-y end result. “‘Cuz I would open up my eyes to you, if you would show me how,” the chorus begins, showing a touch of effective sentimentality over the group’s energy-charged, hook-filled sound. English rockers ¡Forward, Russia! come to mind as a point of comparison. Paper Days have a very obvious knack for memorable and energetic garage-rock/post-punk hybrids; I’ll certainly be looking forward to their debut release.
