Whatever, Mortal

You won’t see it in too many classic album retrospectives, but Slint’s 1991 album Spiderland is unquestionably the key record for a generation of leftfield guitar mavericks, brilliantly reviewed by Steve Albini at the time of release as worthy of “ten fucking stars”. Dave Pajo’s bold but minimal re-working of the possibilities of guitar playing still leaves its mark on records by Mogwai, The Redneck Manifesto, Connect 4 Orchestra and half a dozen obscure bands to be found in every city in the world. A Velvet Underground of the 1990s, except they haven’t really got their dues yet.

Dave Pajo’s post-Slint career has included life as a Palace Brother and working on the essential Tortoise album Millions Now Living Will Never Die. With Whatever, Mortal which he co-produced with Will Oldham he has spawned another one. Following his first ever attempt at recording his own voice on last year’s low-key Papa M Sings release on Mogwai’s new Rock Action imprint, Pajo now seems confident with his own voice and with very good reason. ‘Over Jordan’ is simply a gorgeous, heart-breaking, and richly bleak homecoming song, full of love yet painfully aware of loss and change. It’s not all on desolate terrain, with heart-warmers in the shape of ‘Glad You’re Here With Me’ and some real barbed beauties of one-liners such as; “There something like a wall between us/that stopped you going down on my penis”.

After defining the currency and potency of much contemporary instrumental guitar music, Pajo acquaints himself with the role of a skewered folk and blues artist astonishingly well.