Downpilot - New Great Lakes (Tapete Records)
Paul Hiraga's decision to make a solo album in all but name (but for a few cameo performances from band members and friends) perhaps might not have worked out as well as he thought.  Apparently he decided to forgo the usual band route, and the result is, well, it's okay. In fact I’ll go as far as to say it’s a pleasant musical outing. You’re not at the picnic with your favourite person, the sun in the clear blue sky, the wine already being heartily swigged; no, you’re having cucumber sandwiches (no crusts) and a cup of tea in the drawing room, a shady retreat, where you sit politely, quietly, unquestioningly. Well, that’s how I heard it, until "I Can't Take It" kicks in, a feral moment (it only lasts for 28 seconds) that introduces "Desolation Pass" that somehow brightens the corners, although the singing is still in cucumber sandwich land. It’s a pleasant voice, but it sounds so restrained, so hemmed in by the production.

The blurb tells me the making of “New Great Lakes” was spontaneous, a stream-of-consciousness driven set. On hearing, nothing seems further from the truth, apart from that 28 second glimpse. It’s a tiring listen, and that might be it. He sounds tired, I think, without the energy to get off the track that he’s beaten and flattened, just wanting, it appears, to reach the end. And rest.

There is a kind of pit stop, the next to last track "Through Your Lines", where energy arrives in the form of the more uptempo backing and a woman's vocals that, together, add so much, and even resuscitate the final song "Rosebud Of The Plains".

For the next record, I suggest that Mr. Hiraga take back up with his bandmates. If they’ll have him, that is.
www.downpilot.com

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