Customer Reviews

Aerial M

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

All instrumental in the style that you would expect from a Slint/Tortoise/Stereolab stringed instument player. One song sounds almost precisely like The For Carnation. Pajo plays very cleanly, subtly and at a stately pace. The tracks that work extremely well (2, 3, and 4) highlight the lack in the others but although the arrangements are extremely sparse, the record never really becomes dull. It suggests alot of space (both because of reverb and skeletal arrangements) and it has the atmosphere of music created by one person, alone. Lots of reptitious, overlapping patterns, a few non-standard time switches and really great use of a phaser pedal. It's pop music and there isn't any pretense of expirimentationl; it is nonetheless really pretty. Good music to listen to while you: a) do homework b) draw maps with autocad c) watch crowds of people disperse while staring out onto 8th Ave from your apartment. Soundtrack music in a not unkind sense.

I have a couple thousand albums not counting all the random stuff I have on my computer. Mostly I like stuff from Louisville, Chicago and San Diego. My favorite bands are Rodan, Slint, June of '44, For Carnation, Tortoise, Retsin, The Sea and Cake, 3 Mile Pilot, Heavy Vegetable, The Black Heart Procession, Physics, Godspeed You! Black Emporer, A Silver Mt. Zion, Will Oldham, Smog and Etc... just to give you a range.

The only reason I am writing this review is to say that since this album came out, it has been my number one favorite album of all times. There are few albums I can say this of but this album sticks with me like nothing else in my life.

David Pajo has been making really important and amazing music since I was still in elementary school. Bands like Slint, For Carnation, Tortoise and even Zwan all have his mark on them. Pajo is one of the most underrated and yet most important song writers of our generation. If you check out his discography: http://www.papa-m.com/ and then consider the influence and impact that pands like Slint have had on independent music over the last couple of decades, Pajo's footprint is HUGE.

Last, if I could only listen to one album for the rest of my life, it would not take me more than a millisecond to respond. this would be that album.

Beautiful organic sound accentuated by the simplicity of its compossition. The album integrates string and percussion instruments along with keyboards and synthesizers to create slow but inviting rythms. Aerial M has been characterized from other post-rock bands by their incorporation of deep silences into the development of their music. This is percieved throughout this work and specially in Aass. This does not mean, however, that the final result is a monotonous sound. Quite on the contrary, the overall album has an irregular acoustic geography, going from lethargic tunes (as in Wedding Song No.2) to more energetic compossitions (Compassion for M). The outcome is a state of a hyptnotic introspection where one is easily lost unnoticedly.

First with the influential Slint then the even more influential Tortoise,pajo has shown to be one of the most talented musicians at work these days.And his solo album is a testement of these skills. Working at a nice slow pace the songs build,layer atop of layer,repetitive,gracefull,sad,and filled with that elusive sense of space.Thankfully all the songs on the record are wordless, creating a mood that grows from the first song to the last working off each other amazingly well,and in the process makes a great imageless film score that gets better with each new listening.one of truely great albums of the last decade. !VIVA LA PAJO!

"NYC music lover" has nailed this disc so all you need to decide now is if you are prepared to fork out effectively full price for an album that runs under 32 mins. It's a warm and humid night; I've put this CD on at low volume and it's hit the spot. By putting it on "repeat", it sounds like Pajo's revisiting the same themes every half-hour. You could try and convince yourself that it's value for money that way. No, it didn't fool me either.

This is one of the only 100%-instrumental bands that could not gain something from vocals. Well known and respected indyRocker, David Pajo, uses a guitar the way most use their right hand on their genitals in the shower alone. You get the feeling he could care less if anyone is listening. He just wants to please the guitar, which is an extention of his self and therefore pleasures him. To date he has had 4 releases, this being the only close to full-length one(35 min.). There are 3 short releases, all under 15 minutes in length, but complete in beauty. Pajo is so good that no matter who he is playing with {Bundy K. Brown, Ryan Murphy, an Oldham, Rizzo, McIntire, O'Rourke, Grubbs, ect...} his sound always stands-up while mixing-in, speaking-out, and essentially GETTING-DOWN. Aerial M is his chance to direct his shine, and Your chance to grease your palm with something other than baby lotion.

i like what it does for my brain and my mood. especially on these portland cloudy days of misery.