They might share tastes in song-titling, but the similarities pretty much end there for these two bands. I recently saw Sarah Howells and Richard Llewellyn, the musicians behind Paper Aeroplanes, play live at the J2, Cambridge, and now feel well equipped to set this musical David against Simon Cowell’s Goliath. Near the beginning of their set, lead vocalist Sarah announced that Paper Aeroplanes’ bestselling song by iTunes estimations is Same Mistakes, which she attributed to One Direction having a song of the same name. Here are some more reasons why, next time you’re flicking through Spotify, you should choose Paper Aeroplanes over One Direction:
1. Paper Aeroplanes tell better stories (probably). They also proved unafraid of damaging their brand identity, with unscripted chat about dandruff-inducing hair products and accidentally calling their drummer Ryan Adams before encouraging the audience to add him on Facebook.
2. Paper Aeroplanes have written the song Little Letters. One Direction have not.
3. Paper Aeroplanes really know how to build a setlist, One Direction (probably) get told theirs.
4. No one would be able to call Paper Aeroplanes over-exposed. The reason for this is twofold:
a) They aren’t.
b) They deserve any and all the fuss that is made about them.
5. Paper Aeroplanes are currently on tour, with tickets obtainable for around £10. A One Direction show (which, as we’ve already established, would be far less fun and contain significantly fewer quality songs), would set you back around £50. Here’s where you can catch the welsh musicians in action:
Thursday 23rd May – The Glee Club, Nottingham
Friday 24th May – Brudenell Social Club, Leeds
Saturday 25th May – The Jericho Tavern, Oxford
Sunday 26th May – The Glee Club, Cardiff