Paper Pills is an alternative emo-rock band based in Asheville, NC. They consist of Avis Atkins (vocals), Jordan Shaulis (guitar), Colin Gillie (guitar), Nathan Barnitz (bass), and Mouse Alderson (drums).
Paper Pills is a rhythmic driven band with rock and disco influence wrapped in an emo pop sound. Their goal is to push the musical envelope the way the 90s grunge movement did, asking their audience to consider what rock music is or can be. Their musical influences range in genre and decade, with 90s influences like Hole and the Breeders, to the post-grunge and emo movements of the 2000s in Queens of the Stone Age, Bay Faction, and Paramore.
With heavy lyrical themes of queer romance and Christian trauma. Paper Pills focuses their lyrical content on the societal problems of their generation, exploring the human condition from the perspectives of queerness and neurodivergence while living in the south.
Formed in 2022, Paper Pills is entirely self-produced by the band's own recording engineers Mouse Alderson (Drop of Sun) and Nathan Barnitz (Echo Mountain). Their debut EP, Paper Pills, was released in 2023 along with the lead single, "People Are So Useless". In 2024 they released their second EP, deadname.
Their debut album Peer Pressure is set to release late Fall/early Winter of 2025.
Inquiries: paperpillsAVL@gmail.com
