Jeff McCord on the month’s new releases
Eliza Gilkyson
Red House
Like all the best folksingers, ELIZA GILKYSON draws from anger at the way things are. It wasn’t always so; the daughter of songwriter Terry Gilkyson did dabble in the bliss of new-age music. But times change, and Eliza found her way to her folk roots and, eventually, to Austin. PARADISE HOTEL (Red House) tempers her last release (though one of its best songs, “Man of God,” is a scathing anti-Bush screed), concentrating on symbolism and the politics of the personal. The songwriting is sharp and elegant, the arrangements less so; at times there’s little to recommend besides Mike Hardwick’s standout guitar work. Still, the album’s loaded with gems: a song based on Revolutionary War letters, a near-perfect World Party cover, and the story of a helpless soul moving through life’s machinations while “the bird in my hand is promising paradise.”
David Pajo
Drag City
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Were there such a thing as alt-rock royalty, DAVID PAJO would be swimming in blue blood. Not only was he a member of the influential post-rock deconstructionists Slint, but he also played with Chicago’s jazz-rock champs Tortoise, then lent a hand in Will Oldham’s fabled Palace projects and released a series of solo albums. None of these recordings came close to cracking the mainstream, but in the rock underground, they’re the stuff of legend. And yet nothing the Tyler-born, Louisville, Kentucky–based musician has done previously hinted at the sound of PAJO (Drag City). Acoustic guitars chime while a vaporous voice sings floating, Elliott Smith–like melodies. This could be a Southern California rock record were it not for a handful of louder, odder songs and the strange, appealing air of mystery that permeates each track.
Charlie Sexton
Back Porch
To those accustomed to catching bluesman “Little Charlie” alongside the likes of Stevie Ray Vaughan, it was a surprise in 1985 when the seventeen-year-old CHARLIE SEXTON turned up on MTV (mascara, cheekbones, and all) belting out his synth-pop hit “Beat’s So Lonely.” Sexton has come far since those moments of fleeting fame, producing Lucinda Williams and Los Super Seven and touring and recording with Bob Dylan, but the Austinite has never completely shaken his image as a directionless talent. CRUEL AND GENTLE THINGS (Back Porch), only his fourth album and his first in a decade, dispels that notion. It’s the work of a more focused and mature artist, full of warm, personal tales and strong emotional fare like “Burn” and “It Don’t Take Long.” Sexton’s too fond of his studio tricks, though; at times his gloss overwhelms the intimacy of his material.
