METSA DOES TEXAS With echoes of Springsteen's "Nebraska" and Dylan's "John Wesley Harding," Paul Metsa's new CD, "Texas in the Twilight," comes from a single session recorded in Austin in 1990. Metsa was back in Austin promoting the disc at South by Southwest last month, when he had an unlikely encounter with Bush spinmeister Karl Rove at a tribute to psychedelic-rock pioneer Roky Erickson. That's just one reason why the Iron Range native joked that he should have called the disc "Texas in the Twilight Zone.

The CD is an all-acoustic collection featuring 15 Metsa originals, including "Kisses in the Wind" and "Judas Sang the Blues." It's raw but as powerful as a Texas tornado. Coincidentally , one of Metsa's Austin pals (and fellow Dylanophiles), roots-rock balladeer Jimmy LaFave, just released his new CD, "Blue Nightfall," on St. Paul's Red House Records. Simply put, it's one of the label's best releases in recent years

Mpls StarTribune - Chris Riemenschneider

Texas in the Twilight is a terrific introduction to Paul Metsa's music with 15 guitar and voice demos recorded in Austin in 1990 and only just rediscovered on a cassette in Paul's drawer. Five surfaced later on his excellent Whistling Past the Graveyard (1995), but there's extra intimacy here. Strong stuff.Slow Justice is compelling, brilliant.

Michael Tearson

By Han Orsel for KindaMuzik

Zijn ze er nog, van die singer-songwriters met het hart op de goede plaats en bewogen door alles wat er mis is in onze maatschappij? Ze zijn er nog wel, maar je moet ze met een lampje zoeken. Stephan Smith is zo iemand. En Paul Metsa behoort ook tot deze uitstervende soort.

Do they still exist, those "singer-songwriters" with the heart at the right spot and moved by everything that is wrong in our society? There are some more, though you need to look for them with a flashlight. Stephan Smith is such a person. And Paul Metsa as well belongs to this dying-out specimen.

Metsa loopt al jaren rond in de muziekwereld en bij een duik in zijn persoonlijke archief kwam hij zowaar opnamen tegen die nog niet op lp of cd uit waren gebracht. Zoals deze vijftien songs, die hij in 1990 opnam in een studio in Austin, Texas. Metsa speelde de songs live in de studio en de opnamen vonden zonder verdere technische toevoegingen plaats.

Metsa has been in the music business for years and with a dive in his personal archive, he actually discovered records that had not been released yet on LP or CD. Like for instance fifteen songs that he recorded in 1990 in a studio in Austin, Texas. Metsa played the songs live in the studio and the recording took place without further technical additions.

Texas in the Twilight bevat verhalende songs, waarin de stem en gitaar van Metsa de belangrijkste elementen zijn. Hij heeft een stem die moeiteloos alle aandacht naar zich toetrekt, of het nou in een cafe is, een coffeeshop, een bijeenkomst van arbeiders of een opnamestudio. Zijn stijl is enigszins achterhaald, maar deze songs stammen natuurlijk alweer uit 1990. Metsa schreef alle songs op het album, waarbij vooral het gedragen "Judas Sang the Blues" en het gedreven "Another Man's Chain positief opvallen.

Texas in the Twilight comprises narrative songs in which Metsa's voice and guitar are the most important elements. He has a voice that effortlessly catches attention, irrespective whether in a pub, in a coffee bar or during a working-class meeting in a recording studio. His style is somewhat out of date, but these songs of course date back to 1990 again. For this album, Metsa wrote all songs, whereby the exalted "Judas sang the Blues" and the driving "Another Man's Chains" are positively notable.

Persoonlijk ben ik niet altijd gelukkig met die combinatie van popmuziek en politiek, maar Metsa brengt zijn ideeebn zo overtuigend over en doet dat met zo weinig opsmuk, dat zijn songs je niet koud kunnen laten.

Personally, I' m not always happy with that combination of pop music and politics, but Metsa so convincingly repeats his ideas, and does this with so little trappings, that his songs cannot leave you cold.