The concept of self-actualization is front and center throughout Free Time, from the second that “Kno Me” fires up the album with Paper’s most overtly glam-rocking song yet. It taps into that goofy magic that made Paper’s music so fascinating in the first place. Juggling themes of identity and physicality with music that reclaims the eccentric aplomb of their early records, Paper expands their sound into wily new territory, wrangling together knotty garage rock and tripped-out dance music to serve as the backdrop for personal tales of self-discovery. Paper’s first record since coming out as nonbinary in 2020, Free Time is the most dynamic they have sounded in years, with hilariously expressive grooves that feel like a great casting off of chains (there’s more than one way to read into its punny title). For an artist who up until then had excelled at inventing their own rulebook, these records came across like an unfortunate case of just trying to fit in with the crowd.įortunately, Free Time spells out a fresh beginning. Their first two records for the label, Like a Baby and Abracadabra, sounded like hi-def Jerry Paper, but those gains in fidelity came at the cost of originality: The excessively mellow songwriting didn’t sound terribly different from the lackadaisical chill-dude-core you’d hear from the likes of Homeshake or Mild High Club. Since 2016’s Toon Time Raw!, Paper has slowly swapped out their uncanny-valley keyboards and tick-tocking drum machines for a more streamlined full-band setup, graduating to the Stones Throw roster in the process. But as Paper’s profile has increased, some of what made the project so special has sadly gotten lost along the way.
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