Surface Paradise
Encyclopedia
Surface Paradise is the second full length album by Melbourne
band ROOT!
, released on July 24, 2009. The album follows the previous year's EP
release Get Up Yourself
, of which several references are made to. Continuing the band's more rock-oriented explorations since their debut, the album features several recurring motifs
, both musical and lyrical and can be considered a loose concept album
. The album's concept is that of the fictional, and perhaps metaphorical, 'Surface Paradise', which is most specifically referred to in the album's title tracks. The paradise itself is directly mentioned as a being like a supermarket
, yet it is likely to be a non-physical place, where the world's trendy and elite are seen to reside.
The album features extensive liner notes
, tying into the album's conceptual themes. Rather than featuring any traditional descriptions of the songs, the notes are exhibited as several pages taken from a book. The book appears to deal with the band's eponymous 'Root' character, as well as the characters 'The Unit' and 'Tyfani'. In addition to the full length album, early runs of the CD are accompanied by a bonus disc of early ROOT! demos. This disc, titled First ROOT!, is accompanied by its own set of liner notes which detail the band's formation and early years.
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
band ROOT!
ROOT!
Root! is an Australian rock group from Melbourne formed in 2007. Their music combines alt-country, blues and indie rock with elements of spoken word, satire, social commentary and post-modernism...
, released on July 24, 2009. The album follows the previous year's EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
release Get Up Yourself
Get Up Yourself
Get Up Yourself is an EP by Melbourne band ROOT!, released on August 23, 2008. It is both a follow up the band's previous release Root Supposed He Was Out Of The Question and a sample of the upcoming second album Surface Paradise...
, of which several references are made to. Continuing the band's more rock-oriented explorations since their debut, the album features several recurring motifs
Motif (music)
In music, a motif or motive is a short musical idea, a salient recurring figure, musical fragment or succession of notes that has some special importance in or is characteristic of a composition....
, both musical and lyrical and can be considered a loose concept album
Concept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
. The album's concept is that of the fictional, and perhaps metaphorical, 'Surface Paradise', which is most specifically referred to in the album's title tracks. The paradise itself is directly mentioned as a being like a supermarket
Supermarket
A supermarket, a form of grocery store, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...
, yet it is likely to be a non-physical place, where the world's trendy and elite are seen to reside.
The album features extensive liner notes
Liner notes
Liner notes are the writings found in booklets which come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for vinyl records and cassettes.-Origin:...
, tying into the album's conceptual themes. Rather than featuring any traditional descriptions of the songs, the notes are exhibited as several pages taken from a book. The book appears to deal with the band's eponymous 'Root' character, as well as the characters 'The Unit' and 'Tyfani'. In addition to the full length album, early runs of the CD are accompanied by a bonus disc of early ROOT! demos. This disc, titled First ROOT!, is accompanied by its own set of liner notes which detail the band's formation and early years.