Paul Supreme, 'Milwaukee's Beast' (Review & Interview)

Paul Supreme, 'Milwaukee's Beast' (Review & Interview)

Is Paul Supreme frogman or Milwaukee's beast? Paul Flemion AKA Paul Supreme comes from alt-rock pedigree. His dad, Dennis Flemion, and uncle Jimmy are founders of the Frogs, who have built up a solid fan base over the years. Their work and their legend have grown among heavy hitters: the Smashing Pumpkins, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Urge Overkill, the Breeders, etc. We talk a lot about this in our interview at the end of this article so check that out. I wasn't aware of his work until I got the heads-up on his "Ninja Sword" track. 2020 saw the release of his album debut, Golden Hour which is more of an anthology of songs he's written and accumulated over a 10-year period.

Technically, his proper and second album is 2022's HWY 100 but since then, he's released eight singles. Besides playing catch-up, I needed to find a way to get a bigger picture of Paul's work. To do this, I'm taking his latest singles, compiling them into a third unofficial album as a playlist in the order I imagine it would be released, and reviewing that. 

Before we get to the review...

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And now, for Paul's latest album...

Milwaukee's Beast

This is just a working title for Supreme's "third" album I created as a result of Paul and I's brainstorming session that follows at the bottom of this article. I put the tracks in this order for what I think you'll present consistent ebbs and flow from beginning to end. Starting with "In A Robe", you'll hear along the way that some of his vocals have a Billy Corgan style to them. The track also takes an ambient direction throughout which naturally makes me think that it could benefit from being a lot longer, taking it from 3:23 to 4:30 or or less, in order to take advantage of that ambiance. For instance, the vocals at 1:04 could switch places with the vocals at 0:12, to give the feel of a longer track and somewhere in this area, an additional 2 to 4 bars of sound design for build-up would make it more grandiose.

In thinking about this; it reminds me of what I couldn't figure out about why there was something about NxWorries' "Daydreaming" track that I hadn't paid attention to before. Initially, it seemed very ordinary to me, until I realized they were doing what I just described.  In fact, because "Eggplant Water", the track that follows has a similar vibe, "In A Robe" could flow right into it right before the listener even notices we're on the second track. 

R&B ARTISTS NXWORRIES "DAYDREAMING" THEIR WAY INTO A NEW ALBUM

"Bet I" is designed to get you pumped up from the openers. I can't recall what pop song this reminds me of but, it's got that pop-punk energy to it. "First Team All G" goes a little darker in tone music-wise, especially at 1:21 when the bass hits those flat notes. For me, this is one of the stand-out tracks and could be the single for this release. Then "Hearts Glow" is more of a club track with a bit of an old-school house spin. The Morricone spaghetti Western whistle is a nice touch and because it takes place in a club, bar, or saloon, as a visual, it works.

The one I really want to talk about is the remix of an older track from his first album, the track "Summer Night Thing". I love the creative and catchy way he sings "Summer night th-ing," which is what makes this track unique. I also felt some familiarity with ohGr when he raps at about 1:06. There are times in the other tracks where he goes rap-id but here, it seems like the vocals are a bit altered which is just like the original. Listen to the rap on ohGr's "Pore" at 2:45 and see if they aren't somewhat similar in style. It's just my ears then.

Paul elaborates more on what these songs are about and he doesn't deny that they're about flash, in the tradition of celebrity pop stars like Post Malone. Some of the experiences he sings about are distributed through fiction or abstract thoughts that are designed to not be too revealing because it's about having a good time. For that reason, I don't think the listener should lean too heavily on the meaning of these songs. Check out Milwaukee's Beast below and the interview that follows. Not unlike these songs, it's a grand ole time!

Interview with Paul Supreme

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