Our take: Paprika’s first cassette came out on Iron Lung, but this new tape is the first release on a new label called Chaos and Chill, released for Paprika’s recent tour. I was a big fan of Paprika’s first tape, and Smoked rips too. While Paprika sounds like a hardcore band of the 2020s, the elements of their sound come together in a way that doesn’t sound like anyone else. Their riffs are nimble and catchy, but the guitar tone is a biting and mid-range-y, more like a death metal tone than a typical hardcore punk sound. The vocalist has a snotty bark that commands the room, but I think Paprika’s secret weapon is how they arrange their songs. They’re full of catchy stops and starts and dynamic accents that keep the energy level sky-high. After three originals, they finish up with a cover of the Buzzcocks’ “You Tear Me Up,” known to nerds the world over as the first d-beat song. Excellent stuff.