Paulcito has an angel on one shoulder and a demon on the other in his typically quirky new two-sided single You Never Know / Devil’s Not Done With Me Yet — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
The latest oddball offering from the idiosyncratic Rhode Island singer-songwriter (real name: Paul Reynolds) keeps his weird winning streak alive with a two-base hit straight from left field. The A-side You Never Know brings us an eccentric little indie-pop ditty with a lightly bouncy beat, a catchy sing-song melody, finger snaps and even flourishes of synthesized horns — all assembled to support Paulcito’s David Byrne / Mark Mothersbaugh warble and lyrics reminding us to be kind to each other — because you never know what someone else is going through:
“They might be making love
You never know
They might be one of a kind
You never know
They might be against the rule of law
You never know
They might not be exactly like you
They might not be exactly like me
They might not be exactly like them
They might not be exactly like him.”
“You may be curious,” Paulcito allows. “Who / what song was on my mind when working up You Never Know? Was there something specific?… There were a few. Sometimes I do this sort of thing consciously when working up a track, knowing exactly that I’m thieving on something else, and very specifically knowing what the source is.” To that end, he says he borrowed elements of the song from City Boy’s State Secrets (A Thriller), OMC’s How Bizarre and Soul Coughing’s Super Bon Bon. So now you know.
On the flip side of the single (and the philosophical coin) is the B-side Devil’s Not Done With Me Yet. Over darkly thumpy tom-toms and contemplative keyboards, Paulcito admits that being good is easier said than done:
“How long does it take
When you’ve been crucified
When the love that you make
Gets all petrified
As long as it takes
That’s how long it takes
One day past the line
You’ll be feeling fine
But the devil’s not done with me yet
I need a little more.”
Don’t we all? In Paulcito’s case, that little something extra comes from Queen musician and producer Carl Dennis. Paul sings, composes and creates most of the arrangements, while Carl supplies handles the instruments, programming, and production on the tracks. What you hear is what you get, as they say.
As for where they get it from, Paulcito has this to say about musical influences: “Not a huge number really, but everyone good is influenced by someone else good. As far as some of the bigger names past and present, I’m a fan of the likes of Pixies, Bowie, Jethro Tull, U2, The Doors, Hendrix, Zeppelin, Heart, The Police, Blondie, Blur, Laura Nyro, Steely Dan, XTC, Squeeze.”
Enjoy You Never Know / Devil’s Not Done With Me Yet above, get a little more Paulcito below, and find him at his website, Instagram and Facebook. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
