Papa M - Papa M Sings
(Sea Note)
Forget Slint and Tortoise, the best music that Dave Pajo has made is under
the M moniker. The beautiful guitar interplay he has made his trademark is
way ahead of the rest of the post-rock, Lousiville-Chicago scene. He had
sung three times in past M recordings. The first was his cover of The
Misfits' "Last Caress." Most recently was "Drunken Spree" from his last
album. The better of the three was "Lay" from a compilation Zum Magazine
released. On it, he sang lyrics written by Will Oldham to a song that
sounded like standard M. That is what I was hoping this EP would be.
When I heard it and found it to be country porch music that sounded like a
cheap imitation of his albums with Will Oldham, I was very dissapointed.
After getting used to the idea of the EP and giving it a few more listens,
I warmed up to the songs. "Jaded Lover" opens the EP with a very sing-songy
folk/country feel. "Pissing in the Wind" follows it up with a recurring
reference to Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind." There's also a reference to
Drag City and a feeling that he should have never put out "that" record.
I don't know enough about him and his feelings about his albums to know
what record he's referring to, but it's an interesting self-referential
lyric that carries a lot of the EP's tone of regret and self doubt.
"I of Mine" is the closest the EP comes to my original expectations. The
lyrics for this song are the only ones included in the artwork, and the
music would fit better on his previous albums and singles than the other
songs on the EP.
"Who I Am," "True Love," and "London Homesick Blues" round out the very light
second half. "London Homesick Blues" is the only track of note and is
almost good enough to make up for the momentum lost on the other two
half-developed ideas.
If divorced entirely from his distinctly superb guitar style and allowed its
rudimentary approach to informal sing along songs, then Papa M Sings succeeds
completely. However, in light of his past efforts, it's hard to not wish Pajo
would put vocals on his normal songs and leave the folk music to his
collaborations with Will Oldham. "I of Mine" shows that he can sing to
pretty and intricate guitar parts, and while his folk/country songwriting
has its charm, they're far outshined by his usual songs.
|
