Shane Palko Album Review
A true Renaissance man, Shane Palko, is back with more stories of self reflection, friendship, and adventure with his latest nine song album Dallow. Self-released in December 2021, Shane enlisted the help of close friends to weave his musical tales together.
Shane is usually a man on the move, letting his music take him all over the globe to share and be inspired by the world around him. Due to the pandemic, he had to settle down on a beautiful secluded property in Landenberg, Pennsylvania, affectionately known as Curry Land Studio. He teamed up with long time friend and engineer Joni Elfers to work through months of isolation, setting up a fully functioning studio in an abandoned shed on the property to continue working on their music.
Undoubtedly, Shane does the bulk of the work of recording including vocals, acoustic guitars, bass, drums, and cover art. The magic in this album is enlivened by the musical addition from his guest players. Matt Halley elevates the tracks with their playful classical upright piano. Jason Loux adds an element of ‘country cowboy on the prairie’ with slide guitar and fiddle. Stefan Wolfe lends their hand in adding subtle tasteful layers of electric guitar in select songs. There's fun beautiful background vocals, room chater, and howling from Alyssa & Arthur Wolfe. Foley on “you you you” provided by Hen Bellman & Charlie Brown The Curry Land Studio pooch.
“She’s an amazing sound engineer, and I don’t think people on the recording side in general get enough credit for how albums sound”
-Shane Palko on Joni Elfers engineer
With the help of Joni Elfers, who engineered the record, and Pat Mulrooney, who mastered the album, Dallow is the sequel to Shane’s 2020 folk album Slowing Into The Trees. They continue giving us a sense of folk and storytelling while still leaving room for playful surprises. Outliers like For Me include meditative tibetan bowl playing. Thunder Pipes is a groovy musical interlude that sounds like a bass guitar through an effects pedal and some reverb turned up. These songs a are a testament to Shane’s creativity, ability to not to take himself so seriously, and to enjoy each moment with the ones he loves.
(Joni Elfers and Shane Palko show up to Curry Land Studio accidentally wearing the same outfit)
Stream Dallow anywhere you listen to music.
