Paleface comes trailing a lot of history behind him. He spent much of the 1990s kicking around the alternative-rock scene, seeing associates like Beck hit the big time while bad luck and a bout with alcohol abuse kept his own career from achieving liftoff. He got sober, moved from New York City to North Carolina and distilled his music to its acoustic essence. These 11 tracks are uncluttered vehicles for Paleface’s crisp songwriting and sweetly roughed-up voice, augmented throughout by harmonies from drummer Monica “Mo” Samalot.