Something crude and so painfully stimulating about the “Emptiness In Paradise” by Purbeck Temple that catches your ear already with the first note. This is the weight in the voice of Paul Gill; it is gravelly and soaring, pained but persistent, which makes one believe every single word the man is singing. It is not smooth studio production, it is a raw expression which is a product of actual lived experience, and frankly, you know that difference immediately.
There is this sharp, vigorous alt-rock that does not drown out the feeling beneath in the production. The drums strike with actual intent, muscular guitars cut through the sound developing these strained, grimy textures, and all of this is combined to reflect the rudeness of what Gill is experimenting with here. The chorus is truly memorable–it is catchy and memorable in the best sense, the one that gets into your skin and stays there, long after the song is over.
What strikes me more is the vulnerability that runs all through. Gill self-recorded this complete album in his home studio following unexpressed unimaginable trauma, and that weakness and strength are heart and soul of the song. Emptiness In Paradise works its way through that complicated landscape of recovery and loneliness with a bracing candour, striking a balance between melancholy and the unlikely spurts of dark humour that can only be described as sweeter than natural.
The music is also specifically rather bare, leaving the narration to take complete focus. No frivolous flow here, plain straightforwardness, straightforward honesty that takes the shortest path. It is music that matters in that it actually needed to be created, a kind of therapeutic expression becoming tangible, an artist something to the world to turn years of struggle into something worthwhile and worthy of sharing with the world. It is worth reading Emptiness In Paradise as it is a true work of art created under the condition of survival. It is emotional, superbly written and deeply authentic–a tribute to the power of creativity even during the most desperate times.