The Paper Kites at Roundhouse

Winter is thawing as Australian folk band The Paper Kites tour their January release, If You Go There, I Hope You Find It, at London’s Roundhouse. Warm and comfortingly mellow, it’s a quietly reassured performance from the group as they deliver old favourites and new tracks effortlessly to a remarkably chilled-out audience.

Despite the mellow atmosphere, there’s still a range on display throughout. Opener Morning Gum sets the introspective tone, with Till the Flame an opportunity to showcase consistent and intricate harmonies, as well as varied instrumentation, including a country-twanged steel guitar. This emphasis on musical layering lingers throughout the set, especially as the six-strong performers switch instruments per track, from mandolin to synth, never detracting from the acoustic guitar-led ambience. Then there’s an atmospheric switch with Black and Thunder, complete with stormy soundscapes, lighting and extended electric riffs and later rockier Without Your Love and 1975-esque Electric Indigo. This contrasts with laidback Every Town, almost angelic Walk Above the City or a moment delicate enough to hear a pin drop, the stripped-back acoustic duet of Dearest with opening act Bess Atwell’s mesmerising vocals. This inadvertently leads to a comical moment of Bentley calling out the rare chatter and dedicating the next track to “the people having a nasty chat at the back”.

Another standout moment belongs to new song Deep (In the Plans We Made), singing the album’s titular lyrics, performed in the middle of the crowd next to a glowing light. Performances don’t come more intimate and immersive than this, and it’s more than enough to calm any stresses outside of these Roundhouse walls. Bloom, undeniably the band’s most well-known hit, provides a moment of wonder during the encore, prompting a hushed crowd chorus and ticking off the band’s self-declared goal of “building a community”.

“This city has been good to us over the years,” frontman Sam Bentley shares. Speaking about seeing a London billboard they featured on, he jokes that someone had graffitied the word “bleak” and that it “kind of reflects the show you’re in for”. In presenting If You Go There, I Hope You Find It, The Paper Kites have found a groove that feels hopeful, intimate and refreshingly non-fussy. From Bentley’s unmistakably confident vocals and Christina Lacy’s haunting harmonies to the gentle, calm, undulating mix of strings and the band often standing collectively around a single microphone, it’s not bleak at all: it’s a break of light in a dark, gloomy winter.