Faded Paper Figures have been making intelligent synthpop for over ten years. The band’s “day jobs” are not exactly easy gigs: Heather Alden is a medical doctor, R. John Williams is a full-time professor of English at Yale, and Kael Alden writes music for television and film and will be releasing his second solo album this year.
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Announcing now, for the first time ever, their award-winning first album DYNAMO (2008) on a special edition vinyl. Hailed by the New York Post as a "new music must-have . . . a perfect pairing, like crushed up Xanax," and by NPR as "clever, intriguing, and beautiful," DYNAMO can soon be a part of your vinyl collection, but act fast, as this special edition is a limited pressing.
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And one more thing! Announcing the forthcoming release of a new ten-song album, TRIANGLES (Fall 2025). With this, their seventh full-length album, the band not only continues with their signature sonic palette (electronic beats, gorgeous guitar riffs, and beautiful harmonies), but has once again evolved into wholly new soundscapes. Fans can expect to hear as many familiar lyrical flourishes as they will wholly new sounds and innovative instrumentation. Be the first to download the album, weeks before its official release!
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More press for FADED PAPER FIGURES:
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“I expected this group to deliver ‘smart’ music and damn they do. They do the synth movement proud – HIGHLY RECOMMENDED” - PopDose
“Forward thinking electro pop, with a glistening production shrouding a chassis which borrows from indie rock songcraft, emotive and delicate arrangements” - Clash (UK)
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“FPF … pulls us into the future with a kaleidoscope of cascading synths” - BULLETT
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“An exciting, perpetually changing, sophisticated album. . . actually incredible. Mind blowing” - Mentioned Reviews (UK)
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“Bringing life back to the synthesizer.” - like-online (Germany)
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“Alternately sparse and epic, harmonic and grinding, pensive and playful, moving beyond their electro-pop beginnings.” - WithGuitars (UK)
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“Faded Paper Figures created a brilliant summer time soundtrack. The atmospheric, energetic and lively synths definitely highlight the band’s sound and make this album definitely an enjoyable one.” — HouseInTheSand (Germany)
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“There really is the potential for these guys to get much, much bigger.” —TheSoundOfConfusion (UK)
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“Relics showcases the band’s ability to craft soft electronic beats reminiscent of Dntel paired with wonderfully sweet harmonies to make some of the most catchy tunes we’ve heard from the band to date. And with the critical acclaim the album is receiving, I bet they are glad they didn’t quit their night jobs.” — Posture (US)
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“Whilst both lyrics and music set an extraordinarily high benchmark, they do so effortlessly, without fuss or resorting to showboating and over complication. Like many successful works of art…and this is a work of great post-modern art, it’s all about the editing process. Brevity is the watchword and the results are beautiful. Is this the reality of the fusion between man and machine?” — DancingAboutArchitecture (UK)
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“Relics is by far [FPF’s] most complete record, as it expands on what was right with other releases while also tapping into the indie rock well for substance. Songs like Not the End of the World, What You See, Real Lies and Lost Stars stand out like the highest peaks of mountains in the distance … I think this will be a must have album for anyone who is a fan of FPF or the electronic pop scene in general.” — Indiefection Playlist (US)
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“Faded Paper Figures are no boisterous youngsters. There are no wild gimmicks, no melodrama. What you feel, instead, is a kind of neutral positivity, neither exuberance nor sadness . . . an ideal, classy, poignant sound.” — BLN.FM (Germany)
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“Behind the irresistible rhythms and prophetic-sounding vocals, it’s a thoroughly humanising album from a group of musically-gifted MENSA members. By the end of final track Forked Paths, you’ll just have to accept that some people are engineered towards greatness – and as with the sulky spaceman, we should all cheer up about it.”
— Kemptation (UK)
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“A consummate blend of old-skool electronica, reminiscent of 1980s cult pop stars New Musik, and the more recent, upbeat choral sound of MGMT. Wake Up Dead finds them at their witty best: a kitsch country-inflected tune with a sweet, group-sung chorus.” — The Sunday Express (UK)
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“It’s been a while since we’ve had a really decent indie-electro album. Hot Chip have gone quiet and LCD Soundsystem are sadly no more. Well, if you’re partial to a bit of that, good news! Relics, the fourth album from LA’s Faded Paper Figures is really, really decent! They’ve got a great sound that combines Lo-Fi rock with retro synths. There are some absolute gems on here to check out. 5/5 stars.” — The Daily Sport (UK)
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“Full of intensity and excitement without ever abandoning subtlety this is a stunning and technically flawless album, showing the band is now at the height of their powers. Faded Paper Figures writes songs that are masterfully composed, oblique, and simple, with each of the ten songs contributing its own unique role.” — Man on the Moon (Portugal)
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“The songs on this album are smart and resilient and they feature some wonderfully insightful lyrics. The arrangements are impeccable as are the band’s vocals. There’s not a bad track to be found here . . . Great stuff that holds up to many repeated spins. Top pick: 5/5” — BabySue Music Review (US)
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“With Relics, the indie-pop trio Faded paper Figures manages a smart, dreamy album that settles somewhere above all other bands in the genre, experimenting in ways that allow a wide variety of influences . . . It is at once varied and intimate, driving, undulating, joyous. . . Perfect summer listening.” — BerlinMitteMusik (Germany)
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“... one of the best electropop albums of the year.” —Hoerbefehl (Germany)
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“Rife with gorgeous melody lines and expressive lyrics, ‘Relics’ is a calm and carefully constructed album . . . masterful lyrics. . . rich with emotional value and poetic qualities.” —TMN (US)
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“Faded Paper Figures’s lively electro-pop touches multiple nerves, with amazing versatility . . . creating a truly listenable balance of synthesized pop tunes, beats, and pristine string accompaniments, with which they break out from the typical electronica and pop genre.” — Mescaline Injection (Germany)
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“Relics is a little gem. Elements of folk, pop, electronica and world music superposed with lyrics full of truth. Imagine a less acid-influenced Animal Collective, a less brash Ting Things and Buddha and you get a rough picture of what ‘Relics’ is all about. Highly recommended.” — Never Enough Notes (UK)