A Review of Paul Archer’s ‘No Fear’ - It’s the Sound of Someone With Nothing Left to Prove
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There’s a particular kind of confidence that only comes with time. Paul Archer has been making music for thirty years; through Belfast’s mid-1990s indie underground, the genre-restlessness of The Ghears, and a decade of acclaimed albums with Burning Codes - and ‘No Fear’, the new video release from his debut solo album Art, sounds exactly like what it is: a man who has earned his convictions.
"‘Art’ promises a punchy expression of ambition, passion and elegantly-rendered source material" - CLASH Magazine
The track is alt-rock with a philosophical spine. Produced by Andy Hawkins at Nave Studios in Leeds, it moves on soaring guitars and dynamic, purposeful momentum, with Archer’s vocals carrying a message that cuts cleanly against the cultural grain — that love, not fear, is the more powerful organising principle. Jim Lockhart of the legendary Horslips brings a flute performance that lifts the song somewhere cosmic, lending it a dimension most indie rock doesn’t bother reaching for.
By ‘Art’ on vinyl at: www.paularcherofficial.com
Art itself - Archer’s first release under his own name - conceived as a vinyl experience and supported by Think Like A Key Records — is a record that rewards close attention. Side A delivers euphoric, kinetic energy; Side B opens into something more searching, featuring Duke Special, string players Darragh Morgan and David McCann, and backing vocalist Janet Henry. CLASH Magazine called it “a punchy expression of ambition, passion and elegantly-rendered source material,” and the ‘No Fear’ video only sharpens that case.
It’s a bold statement from a musician entering a new creative phase. But then boldness, when it’s this well-earned, tends to look a lot like calm.
Art is out now via Think Like A Key Records.
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