The Pauses | Review of A Cautionary Tale

The Orlando, Florida based three-piece The Pauses will be releasing their debut album entitled A Cautionary Tale on March 8^th. The Pauses have a surprisingly well formed sound for a relatively new band. Its members, Tierney Tough, Jason Kupfer and Nathan Chase don’t pull any punches with their straightforward brand of indie rock. The band’s lead singer, Tierney Tough has a vocal style that bears a similarity to that of one of Canada’s leading ladies in the indie rock scene, Emily Haines of Metric. Don’t think so? Listen to the third cut off of the album, The Migration and you will be pleasantly reminded of a few tracks on Metric’s Old World Underground, Where Are You Now? album.

The album art which was done my Travis Lampe of Chicago may lull any potential listeners into a scene of childhood nostalgia. A Cautionary Tale cover depicts what looks like a re-envisioned interpretation of Random House’s Little Golden Books children series. The choice of a debut album cover in style that evokes childhood memories may be intended to create a pavlovian response for record store shoppers. So, if you find yourself reaching for A Cautionary Tale before bed just know that The Pauses have rung their bell and you came. Don’t feel bad though, because you will be listening to a diverse album with enough of familiar and original elements to keep you engaged for a long time to come.

This may be the first time you’ve heard of The Pauses but based on the quality of their first album it will definitely not be your last.