don glori: paper can't wrap fire
Francisco Espregueira
Last friday, Mr Bongo unveiled Paper Can't Wrap Fire, the captivating third album from Melbourne/Naarm's own multi-instrumentalist Don Glori. Through nine tracks, the Australian musician takes us on a kaleidoscopic journey that seamlessly fuses the vibrant worlds of jazz, soul, and funk. This assured release, feeling both contemporary and classic, familiar yet strikingly novel, showcases an artist in full creative flight, confidently displaying his unique musical voice and impressive songwriting prowess. Steering in a new direction, Don Glori (aka Gordon Li) delves deeper into his songwriting on this project, enlisting a talented array of friends from Naarm's thriving creative scene, resulting in an album richer in soul, R&B, and funk than his previous jazz-rooted productions - Welcome (Bedroom Suck Records, 2022) & Don’t Forget to Have Fun (DeepMatter, 2024) -, while still offering plenty of his signature jazz stylings.
The album's intriguing title, an old Chinese proverb signifying the undeniable nature of truth, serves as an underlying thread woven throughout the collection of songs. As Don himself explains, many of the tracks explore themes of truth-seeking, observations on life, and the masks we wear to navigate its complexities, a concept visually represented in the album's cover art. Recorded over a balmy summer in Naarm's Rolling Stock Studios with a core band of friends and family, including Tim Cox, Al Kennedy, and the exceptional vocal talents of ML Hall and Ruby Dargaville, Paper Can't Wrap Fire truly shines in its marriage of profound meaning and exceptional musicianship.
Influenced by a diverse range of artists, from Azymuth and SAULT to Jordan Rakei and the energy of London's NTS scene, Don Glori has embraced his unique core, creating a record that feels authentically his own, a glistening journey infused with jazz finesse, nourishing vocal harmonies, and an instantly relatable human soul, no masks required. Available on vinyl, courtesy of Mr Bongo.