The Paper Raincoat is an imaginative collaboration between Brooklyn songwriters Amber Rubarth and Alex Wong that brings to life a colorful world teeming with compelling characters, dream-like storylines, and metaphorical narratives. Their debut EP Safe in The Sound is an introduction to this fantasy world drawn from real experiences of excitement and solitude its creators shared in moving to New York City.

The story is based around the world of a fictional character named Grace, who on the eve of her 50th birthday begins to question the choices she's made in her life. When she receives news that her estranged father, a failed inventor, has died, she returns to her childhood home to help settle his affairs. While cleaning out his study, she uncovers early designs for a paper raincoat, the invention on which he staked their family fortune, and that subsequently tore the family apart when it failed to sell. She is flooded with intense memories of a pivotal day in that very room, when she made the conscious decision to give up on her dream of becoming a writer in order to avoid the disastrous effects that transpired as a result of her father’s choices. She starts to question whether there might have been another way for her life to unfold, and decides to find out by rewriting her own story in a novel she titles The Paper Raincoat.

The songs are a cinematic blend of orchestral pop, electronic textures and unforgettable melodies. "Our goal was to create songs that were enjoyable on any level…” adds Alex. “…Catchy and meaningful enough for listeners to relate to whether or not they knew the back-story. Once they liked the music, we felt discovering the story hidden inside the songs would only increase their connection to them."

Although still a young band (their debut EP was released in july 2008), The Paper Raincoat has been embraced wholeheartedly by fans and industry alike.  They were featured on iTunes as an Indie Spotlight Artist within a week of their EP's release.  They celebrated the release of their full length album with a with a sold-out show at Joe's Pub in NYC, soon followed by the Hotel Cafe showcase at SXSW and NPR's Mountain Stage.  The record shot to number 1 on AmieStreetMusic.com, stayed there for several weeks, and continues to break the top 25 months later.  Recently signing with Secret Road Licensing, the album has landed several coveted placements, including two featured songs on One Tree Hill, a song in the Touchstone Pictures feature film The Last Song starring Miley Cyrus, and in a national advertisement for Aquafina.  Their live show has been described as "riveting" by audiences, featuring everything from an a cappella number using nothing but harmonies and body percussion, to a 3 person drum jam, to a piece for four hands on piano, played by Amber and Alex at the same time.

Paste Magazine sums it up in their Best of What's Next review, saying "We think the world might be a little better if everyone heard this record."

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