Paleo

Add Date: June 7 

Artist: Paleo 

Album: Fruit of the Spirit 

Label: Partisan 

Genre: Folk rock, psych pop 

Comments: David Strackany has already built up a pretty impressive musical résumé: The Song Diary, his 365-song project from 2006; winning the John Cassavetes Award at the Independent Spirit Awards in 2009; soundtrack work (alongside Okkervil River) on the film In Search of a Midnight Kiss. As Paleo, Strackany's work has primarily focused on stripped-down folk, most recently on 2010's A View of the Sky.

Fruit of the Spirit, then, is an attempt to branch out, and it's a largely successful venture. From the Caribbean percussion of album opener "Lighthouse" to the psych-pop feel of "In the Movies" to the folk-rock stomp of "Holly Would", there's a lot more going on here than your standard singer/songwriter setup of vocals and guitar. Very enjoyable; start with tracks 7, 10, 1 and 2.