Pablo Returns to the Mercury Lounge on March 28th ~ BrooklynRocks: NYC Music Blog

Saturday, March 24, 2007

Pablo Returns to the Mercury Lounge on March 28th

Pablo's latest CD Half the Time was released late last year on Curb Appeal Records and is continuing to get great reviews. To lift a quote from the band's website "[vocalist]Paul Schalda has a ghost's voice, an old haunted soul that shivers its way up through his mouth to share its cracked-glasses view of the world with those of us lucky enough to listen."

This should be a good show and tickets are only $10. Check out some of the press quotes that Schalda and Pablo have earned over the last few months.

“My boy Pablo is the real deal.” - AOL MUSIC

“New York band Pablo’s release is one of the most honest and personal albums of 2006…Schalda’s distinct and heart aching voice bring out the kind of emotion you can immediately identify with and can’t ignore.” - John Richard KEXP and NPR.org

“Acoustic-laden, folk influenced project called PABLO, whose “Half the Time” marks a new direction for the artist, one which provides a fine foundation for his haunting and cigarette-roughed voice.” - New City Chicago

“This is a record that you wouldn’t mind getting caught singing along with it at a stoplight. Chances are that you won’t need much coaxing. This is one of the better debuts of the year to date.” - Wonkavision
New York's Pablo is the vehicle for that voice and the lives it's lived. Previously heard draped over the Pavement-influenced treble clang of outerborough indie rock heroes AWEK (see "NY: The Next Wave" on Kanine Records), Schalda's distinct and affecting vocals stand at the center of Pablo, drawing chills from the tight economy of his lyrics and conveying something deeper than most words usually get across anyway. It's smart music that connects at gut level, a rare treasure in a crowded space. Clipped stories prop themselves up against solitary acoustic guitar, or find a full body in the stellar and spare accompaniment provided by brother Will Schalda (ex-REALISTICS) and his varied keys, wife Maggie Schalda's harmonies, and the Strandberg Brothers' ample multi-instrumentation.

The result is a sound singular enough to equally evoke Odetta and the Replacements, and one that's perked up the ears of KEXP's "John in the Morning" and landed the outfit support slots up and down the East Coast with Matt Pond PA, Earlimart, Brendan Benson, myself and more. On the heels of a well-received self-released EP, Pablo's first full-length recording “Half The Time” is out on Curb Appeal Records.

Links:
Pablo's Main Website [Link]
Pablo's MySpace Page [Link]