“Now when I fall to earth, I hear applause/ I love to hear applause,” Brian McMahan sings, suggesting various readings, on “Emp. Man’s Blues,” the slack-jawed bass and brushed snare lulled and sleepy-eyed behind him. “I am the new gods/ You’ve seen my face around the block/ But now I’m here/ My time has come.”…
Tag: Papa M
Review: El Ten Eleven – “Tautology III”
A kick-drum in the shape of a heartbeat appears some seven minutes into El Ten Eleven’s Tautology III, the final piece of its ambitious instrumental, arc-of-life suite on Joyful Noise. What’s odd – and oddly special – about the third installment, however, is how it does not dwell in the chambers or details of life and…
Justin Vellucci’s Top Ten Records I Reviewed This Year — 2018 Edition
Well, here it is, Mr. December, yet another year, yet another year-ending list. And what more can be said? We want to be free. We want to be free to do what we want to do. We want to be free to ride. We want to be free to ride our machines without being hassled…
Review: Papa M – “A Broke Moon Rises”
Talk about a phoenix rising from the ashes of it all, am I right? Consummate post-rock guitarist David Pajo returns to excellent form on A Broke Moon Rises, a new five-song mini-LP released a few days ago via Drag City. The record comes less than two years after Highway Songs, a confusing mish-mash of odds…
Review: Papa M – “Walt’s”
Talk about a teaser! Drag City Records today released “Walt’s,” the first song off a new LP, out Aug. 17, from David Pajo solo project Papa M. And it is a shimmering, devastating little doozy. The song, a slow instrumental meditation for acoustic guitar (the record is billed as a collection for four acoustic guitars),…