Belfast's prodigal son returns with canvases of sound and color

Northern Ireland's sonic shapeshifter Paul Archer has spent three decades dodging music industry landmines while crafting melodies that refuse to be forgotten. After leading Disreali Gears through Belfast's 90s psych-rock haze, morphing into the Krautrock-infused Ghears, and shepherding Burning Codes through six albums of euphoric introspection, Archer's finally doing the unthinkable—using his actual name on an album. When not lending his celestial vocals to Snow Patrol's multi-platinum "Eyes Open" or sharing stages with Elbow and Lisa Hannigan, he's been quietly perfecting the art of surviving major label disappointments with his melodic gifts intact. Now back on home soil after his East Anglian adventures, Archer's turned his Abstract Expressionist paint splatters into album art for "Art"—a vinyl-conceived journey that splits the difference between euphoric alt-rock and cosmic soul contemplations. Hot Press once described his work as "mysterious, melodic, beautiful, eerily intimate"—we just call it the triumphant next chapter in a career that's stubbornly refused to follow anyone else's script.