A little rickety, a little spacy, but boasting plenty of laid-back charm,
PAINT
is the solo project of Los Angeles indie stalwart
Pedrum Siadatian
, best known to most as the lead guitarist for garage-psych revivalists
Allah-Las
.
began its existence shortly after the completion of
' 2016 LP,
Calico Review
, when
Siadatian
began committing to tape a handful of offbeat solo cuts just to see where things would go. Before long, fellow West Coast psych enthusiast
Frank Maston
got involved as a co-conspirator/producer, and the 12 songs on
's self-titled debut began to take shape. With a pint-sized gap in
' schedule and their label,
Mexican Summer
, willing to take him on as a side project,
was a shoo-in on a roster ripe with fellow sonic explorers like
Ariel Pink
and
Drugdealer
. The music
makes here isn't a great stretch from the sound of his primary band, but his character certainly comes out on highlights like the breezy "Daily Gazette" and the cerebral "Plastic Dreams," alternately channeling both
Lou Reed
Syd Barrett
. Like
' albums, the production is decidedly retro and lo-fi, but fits the feel of material that amiably takes cues from trippy '60s West Coast psychedelia, occasional bits of exotica, and more straightforward garage rock. One of the strongest cuts is the instrumental "Heaven in Farsi," a neatly constructed Mellotron-led composition that combines a bit of eerie wonder with loungey orchestration. Likewise, another guitar-averse track, "Wash," is equally compelling with its manipulated baritone chord organ croaks and listing arrangement. All in all,
manages to find a unique place for himself with a bouquet of solid material at its core. ~ Timothy Monger