qshio
CONTACT

SEEKING

Vocalist - Tenor, Vocalist - Soprano, Vocalist, Vocalist - Bass, Vocalist - Baritone, Violin, Trumpet, Saxophone, Rhythm Guitar, Piano, Other Percussion, Other, Lead Guitar, Keyboard, Harmonica, Flute, Drums, Bass Guitar, Background Singer, Acoustic Guitar.

ABOUT

Paul Is Making Me Nervous / Paul Fidalgo
review by Sara Holdren

The first time I listened to Paul Is Making Me Nervous, I thought, “Hey, this is pretty good.” The second time, I definitely caught myself humming along and thinking, “Heyyy, this is pretty great.” The fourteenth time, my roommates became nervous.
Okay, so that’s a slight exaggeration (it was really more like the twelfth), but I am going somewhere with all this. Point being: independent singer/songwriter Paul Fidalgo has come out with his first record, and hey. It’s really great.
Professional actor, D&D enthusiast, and all-around rock-star, Paul Fidalgo (interviewed on page __) has created a first album that’s equal parts catchy and contemplative. Paul Is Making Me Nervous is colorful, clever, pretension-free rock from beginning to end. And just to make things more impressive, there’s a remarkable amount of variety within this already promising framework. There’s the witty, neurotic opener “Running Gag,” a fun, upbeat rock song in which Fidalgo realizes that being “a punch line, a solid bit, an easy laugh” maybe isn’t all that bad after all. There’s also the beautifully delicate love song “Sing You To Sleep (Road Lullaby).” “Stabbed In The Throat” is a self-aware, alt-country-tinged melody, and both “Five Million Years” and “Selfless” are powerful comments on this country’s depressing status quo. There’s the grungy, garage-rock “Grain of Salt,” the addictive and bright-guitared “What’s Good For Me,” and the quirky, pop-in-a-good-way “Information Desk Girl.” Paul Is Making Me Nervous is one of those rare, fantastic albums that grows on you with every listen, the kind where your favorite song keeps changing because each one is fascinating and unique.
Paul Fidalgo’s first record is entirely self-produced, and the attitude such an endeavor must have taken really shows. There’s a confident, free-spirited feeling to this album; it’s smart, it’s personal, and it’s refreshingly free of all that self-conscious indie elitism. Paul may be making someone nervous, but he’s definitely making me happy.

Screen name:
qshio
Member since:
Oct 07 2005
Active over 1 month ago
Level of commitment:
Moderately Committed
Years playing music:
10

Influences

Ben Folds, Toad the Wet Sprocket, They Might Be Giants, Sting, REM, Marshall Crenshaw, King Missile

EQUIPMENT

Martin A/E, Yamaha acoustic, Squier bass, Yamaha electric, Yahama 12-string A/E, Yamaha Stagepas 300.