Papadosio's Debute Release, Magreenery

By Matthew Toledo - 10/17/2007

Papadosio's latest release, entitled Magreenery, showcases the band's unique attempt to blend your grandfather's favorite jam grooves into an contemporary electronic soufflé. Forcing these two divergent forms of music into a viable chimera is no easy task. Typical jam fans do the elbow-spin-dance for organic grooves, organic clothing, and organs played by organisms, like humans. Electronica, on the other hand, rewards those who posses the technical skills to program clever loops, patches and the ability to push sound-processing apparatus to the limit of their design. Electronica artists often create sonic soundscapes unachievable by the human hand or analog instrument. The trick to appreciating Papadosio is to not think of their music as strictly jam or electronica. Instead, one needs to focus on the properties shared by both worlds. For example, both forms of music inspire listeners to dance and they both inspire trance-like mental states. Simply put, Papadosio creates music to dance and trance to.

For the most part, Magreenery is a successful concoction. Tasty tracks like "Fuse"--hey, there is that "blending" theme again--use angelic keyboard patches to back tribal drum rhythms which bridge into techno drum beats that could have been directly taken from Radiohead's Amnesiac album, or perhaps Tom Yorke's solo début, The Eraser. "Curve," my personal favorite on the record, blends an amazing bass groove with arpeggiated keyboard loops and chill guitar riffs. It is a perfect example of how Papadosio inspires dance and trance. It also wins the award for the cleverest lyrics "Subatomic particles know how to have a good time." I'll have to take their word for it, because by simply observing subatomic particles, you change their outcome. "PhDeeze," which sounds at time like a lost Guest track, is an infectious purely traditional jam nearly devoid of any electronica flavoring. Still, the boys of Papadosio find a way to blend the track's standard funk and Latin riffs into a new dish.

Only occasionally does the recipe go sour. The final track, "Polygon," strays too far into the cheese-electronica land of Manheim Steamroller for my tastes. Some of the more electronic parts felt like they belonged on that DVD Radio Shack used to sell called, Beyond the Mind's Eye. I beleive Jan Hammer was the composer for those. Perhaps they can license their music out to an animation company? There is money in that.

Magreenery was recorded, produced and mastered completely "in house" by the members of Papadosio. Technically, the record was flawlessly recorded and produced. It stands as a testament to the amazing technical skills of the band, all of whom could easily transition into the studio and production aspects of music should their performance careers ever go on hiatus. Some or all of the members of the band have some mighty good ears for production.

Papadosio's freshman début, Magreenery, is an impressive dish for the contemporary hippie. The band has formidable talent for both production and performance. Yet, it is obvious that Papadosio is still developing their electronica and jam recipe. One or two tracks sound like they could have been better served by putting them on another album. Almost all the tones used on Magreenery are pristine and clean. I would have liked to have heard the occasional fuzzy guitar or dirtier bass tone. All this means is that the band has room to grow. Judging from their consistently packed performances at local establishments, they will have the local support they need to perfect their sound in the years to come. Three out of four stars.

Sounds like: Action Figure Party, Phish, Guest

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