Daily Download: "High Lonesome Moan," Pajo

David Pajo, who has played in Slint, Tortoise and Zwan, has also had an inconsistent but often brilliant solo career under a variety of monikers, Papa M being the most common. Under that name, he recorded the extraordinarily lovely instrumental electronic/acoustic record "Live From a Shark's Cage," and the excellent record of dark, folky songs, "Whatever, Mortal." His latest, titled simply "Pajo," is another song record, this time more Simon and Garfunkel than Smog, and with a smattering of whispery electronic beats to go with his whispery vocals and fingerpicked acoustic guitar. While I like the songs, I haven't developed much love for it even after repeated hopeful listens. I think part of the reason I haven't warmed up to this record is the lack of warmth in the sound itself -- not the songs, per se, but the way the songs are recorded. I'm no audiophile (ha ha), but there's something exceptionally cold and thin about the sound on this record, lo-fi, but not in a nice way. Apparently Pajo recorded it on his computer at home, and whatever program he used (Garage Band, I'm guessing) left its mark.