- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
-
The gravity and changing tides of this engaging self-titled effort help David Pajo warm up, if not transcend the post-rock tag.
-
Alternative PressImmediately memorable. [Aug 2005, p.164]
-
While the self-imposed constraints limit the emotional power of songs like "Mary of the Wild Moor" and the hushed, fingerpicked "Manson Twins," it's a happy addition to Pajo's solid lo-fi repertoire.
-
The tinny, noisey/flangey/hurtful sound that's shellacked on in cheap 16 bit hinders some of the best material he's written to date.
-
Pajo employs quiet space beautifully here, amplifying his hushed couplets and fret noises by surrounding them with nothing but a vague tape hiss.
-
FilterPajo clearly knows how to tinker without overcrowding, losing or insulting the pleasant, acoustic backbone of his songs. [#16, p.91]
-
MagnetPajo comes as close to capturing his mercurial talent and shifting identiy as we're ever likely to hear. [#68, p.106]
-
MojoUndoubtedly his definitive statement--not just as a guitarist, but as a songwriter and vocalist. [Jul 2005, p.96]
-
New Musical Express (NME)He continues his obsession with broken-hearted collages and interstellar folk music. [25 Jun 2005, p.64]
-
This record doesn't intend to blow your hair back; it wants to get under your skin, and with its twinkling arpeggios, morbidly graceful lyrics, and barely there electronics, slowly, it does.
-
Q MagazineA most pleasant surprise. [Jul 2005, p.122]
-
Rolling StonePajo is no milestone, but it's a modest, quiet success that will leave you wondering. [11 Aug 2005, p.72]
-
SpinA lovely, eerie album that plays like a digital memory of a lo-fi lullaby. [Aug 2005, p.103]
-
Building on his unassuming alternative icon status, this great debut (under his own name) is sure to bring him that bit nearer to the awareness of the mainstream.
-
For a man who made his reputation deconstructing melody, Pajo comes across with some surprisingly winsome tunes on Pajo, drawn largely from the kind of late-'60s pastoral pop that his devotees might've dismissed derisively a decade ago.
-
This is about as close to ambient as a singer-songwriter can get without mixing himself out altogether.
-
The WireSome of these tracks have a stark, haunting beauty that marks them out as perfectly realised compositions in their own right. [#258, p.68]
-
UncutPajo is not, and will never be, a great singer.... His guitar playing, though, is as quietly inventive as ever. [Jul 2005, p.96]
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
-
Positive: 5 out of 6
-
Mixed: 1 out of 6
-
Negative: 0 out of 6
-
WayneBSep 30, 2005
-
PaulNSep 16, 2005
-
jyotirmayadSep 1, 2005The best ambient music of today. Instinctively sure of itself yet decidedly 'unassuming.'