Paleface: The Show Is On The Road (Ramseur Records, 2009)
This is obviously not the finnish rap artists Paleface, it’s the american folk artist Paleface. Paleface has actually been around quite a while. He released albums for Polydor and Sire Records in the 90s, but unlike his former roommate and close friend Beck, he never got the big break. After being dropped by Sire in 1996, Paleface has continued touring and writing music and has released a lot of stuff independently. Now the excellent Ramseur Records has given him a new chance to turn his tour success and experience to a successful recording career.
I have rather mixed feelings about the album. Even though I’m a fan of simple music some of the up-tempo tracks (like the title track especially) seem to lack some depth and become way too boring way too fast. These probably hit the target on live situations, but not so well on a record. Thankfully there’s another side and beautiful folk ballads like Traveling From North Carolina are the reason to fall in love with Paleface. That is the key song of the album for me. A really wonderful song that reminds me a bit of Ben Weaver and I do love the moment Monica Samalot’s (drummer) soft humming enters the frame. The moments when they sing together are charming. Whether Monica is just backing Paleface by humming or there’s a real male-female vocal interplay going on, it always works beautifully. It’s probably best to catch Paleface’s live concert, but the record does have several great moments as well. Half of it is really good, but the other half is only okay.
