Comprised of founding members Robert McVey, (guitar) who’s had stints backing the legendary Marianne Faithfull and as a member of Longview and Madrugada‘s Sivert Høyem (vocals); along with Simone Butler (bass), who has been in the touring and backing bands of a number of arena rock acts; and Rob Ellis (drums), who’s best known for backing and collaborating with PJ Harvey, the indie rock All-Star band Paradise may arguably feature some of the most accomplished musicians in contemporary rock. And interestingly enough, the band can trace its origins to when its founding duo of McVey and Høyem bonded in an Oslo bar over a shared passion for the sort of straightforward rock ‘n’ roll they’ve felt has been long absent from indie and underground rock for some time.
The quartet’s first tour together sold out, primarily based on the reputation and careers of the individual members alone, and building on the buzz they’ve received from fans and critics, they released their John Agnello-produced, self-titled debut EP last week. And from the EP’s first single “Goodbye 21st Century” the members of Paradise specialize in straightforward yet rousingly anthemic, power chord-based rock — and in some way, the song finds the band wondering what happened to that old rock ‘n’ roll feel, when everything seems prepackaged, soulless, contrived and pretentious; but perhaps more important, the band wants to lead the charge for rock that blows the doors down and kicks ass with an immediacy of purpose and a sense of danger.
