Michael Paynter - Love the Fall

For those who have never heard the music of Michael Paynter before, may I say please take this opportunity to go and listen to his music. Right now... I don’t even mind if you stop reading this. Go!

I’ve been a fan of Michael for a year or two now, ever since I saw his music video for ‘Closer’ on Video Hits one morning. Now I don’t usually sit down to watch music videos, so I was probably flicking between channels. Fortunately though, at this particular moment in time, I decided Channel 10 was my best option for entertainment, and somehow his voice managed to capture my attention enough for me to run around the room to find a pen and scrap of paper (which was more difficult than you would think) to write this guy’s name down. And boy, am I glad I did! His unique voice has an amazingly strong vocal range, all with an Aussie accent (even better) combined with his amazing lyrics make for great listening.

Anyway, I was planning on talking more about his most recent EP – Love the Fall than my discovery Michael’s music. I just bought it and I was so excited I had to write about it straight away, so here goes...

This EP definitely follows a similar pop-rock vibe (sorry, I watched ‘The Castle’ recently, so “vibe” has been added to my vocab again) to his previous music, so anyone who likes his songs such as ‘Closer’ and ‘A Victim Song’ will love this too. However, Michael’s also managed to evolve his music to another level with more variation – the previous slight lack of variation in his songs was my only possible criticism. In particular he’s taken a step or two away from the guitar and even the drums, and moved towards the piano, especially in ‘Novocaine’ and ‘Lay My Armour Down’, something that I think works very well.

All in all, the combination of catchy melodies and clever lyrics makes Michael’s music worth a listen. I’ve also found the strong beat and uplifting sound of ‘Love the Fall’ particularly motivating when it comes to convincing oneself to go for a run or get on that exercise bike... It may or may not fit rather well into a cliché movie scene involving motivational music and a life changing decision that leads to the main character running along an almost deserted road in the rain... not that I’ve tried it or anything.

Anyway, I think I’ve pretty much finished this essay for tonight so in conclusion, Mr. Paynter (though I know you’ll never read this, but I’m sending vibes out anyway), you’re new EP is great, something I’m sure my friends won’t be too pleased about as I’ll probably be talking about it non-stop for weeks, but that’s okay with me :) For anyone else who’s reading this, firstly THANK-YOU! Secondly, if you didn’t at the beginning, go and have a listen to Michael Paynter’s music, including his new EP ‘Love the Fall’. You won’t regret it.