Paleo is the psych-folk project of poet, painter and
musician
David Strackany, who had been running an
indie art gallery, reviewing records and selling paint
to art students before relocating to a Missouri ranch
and narrowing his scope to a new project: recording an
album.
Misery, Missouri is the result,
Strackany's first foray into writing and recording
songs, and a fine demonstration of how creativity
successfully crosses media borders.
Making good use of
acoustic guitar, accordion, mandolin, banjo and
lo-fi recording,
Misery, Missouri is a gritty, emotionally infectious psych-folk rock collection
led by Strackany's achy, pleading vocals. It's the
kind of warm and lounge-y record you play when friends
come over, one of whom is sure to ask:
"Who is
this?" And when you answer, you know they're
making a mental note 'cause they plan to run out and
buy a copy the next day.
The chugging accordion and
mandolin picking give such tracks as "Ophelia (Asleep in
the Flower Pot)" and "Learning to Say 'I Love You' in
Foreign Languages" a shuffling, tropical feel.
"Beautiful Lady, Beautiful Girl" is a raw and stomping
country-esque song driven by fervent guitar strums and tambourine shakes, while "What
Is Love?" is a
gently whispered love song, gliding along skipping
melodies and brushed drums.
The high-energy "When Pirate Comes to Port" finds Strackany's croon
so desperate, throaty and stretched out, sounding a
bit like Billy Corgan, while the emotionally drained "A
Dead Body Breathing in the Back of a B-Movie" is an
eerie, softly cooed song built on carnival accordion
pumps, feedback and wiry acoustics. If Strackany is
as good a writer and/or painter as he is a
music-maker, the world's gonna feel so unfair — how
is it fair that one person should have so many
talents?
