Kelly Dunham Schneider, known professionally as Paper Comet, drenches her new self-titled EP with hope and resilience. “Neither one of us can do it on our own,” she coos between layers of cosmic dust in the opener “Manual Drive.” Its pitter-patter heartbeat drives every one of our lives ahead into the blinding sun hovering on the horizon. “Maybe that was easy, but that was good enough for me,” she bookends the song with a testament to her own strength.
Schneider fuels “Manual Drive” with an indie pop aesthetic, whereas she boot-scoots the second song, “Mary, Mary,” with a decidedly country & western lacquer. “Better trust your gut, girl, once he shows you what he is,” she unfurls her lyrics with poisonous bite in the latter. It’s that soft cry in the pitch-black midnight that suffocates the listener. Her words are barbed, cutting into the skin with careful, razor-sharp precision. The song, tackling trauma and brokenness and eventually leading to rebirth, emerges as one of the year’s best songs.
With “Ready to Live,” Schneider selects joy out of the pile of rubble at her feet. Despite all the smoke and glass shards, she chooses jubilation and to live again with renewed willpower. What other choice does she have? We only have one life; might as well make the best of the present moment.
Paper Comet’s self-titled EP is out now.
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