Ballads Of Harry Houdini is the fifth album Dave Pajo has recorded as Papa M rather than Aerial M or part of Slint or of course solo.
The album opens with Thank You For Talking To Me (When I Was Fat) that has exploratory guitars that sound like they are lashing Harry into a straightjacket, with squeals of pain, it gets over tightened, he is a touch over optimum weight. screaming squalls against super steady drumming, Stunned phasers like he's wriggling to get out of the straightjacket with a long drilling tone.
Ode To Mark White doesn't sound like he doubled de clutch enough to truly be an Ode To Mark White, but the burnished almost Tom Waits style vocals gives this a down at heel dark balladeer feel.
Peoples Free Food Program may or may not have been designed to play to people queuing for free food, not sure if this will thin or swell the line, high pitched guitar lines zip across the speakers, over an ever repeating chiming tone and drum pattern, while trying to figure out ways of making sure everyone gets fed and has a place to sleep if they need it.
Barfighter is duking it out in a funky fight, over if auto tuning the vocals is the right thing to do or not, bass runs give way to uppercut guitars, pushing you back onto the ropes, giving you very slurred vocals, that are made more indistinct by being filtered through the Auto tuner helping to emasculate the meaning, using the machine for effect in a most interesting way, the haymaker knocks the off switch to the auto tune, suddenly the words are clearer, not for long as a quick jab and murk returns.
Rainbow Of Gloom could almost come off Lou Reed's Ecstasy album, with a similar guitar tone, Dave's vocals are somewhere between Leonard Cohen and Fred Abong while he explores all the things currently making him feel gloomy.
The album closes with Devil Tongue that sounds like it is being gently sauteed in sesame oil and garlic, the notes glisten and slowly wrap around your brain, you can imagine all the bile that Devil tongue has spewed at you over the years.
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