Arya Jha
Papadosio’s latest album T.E.T.I.O.S. is on the greatest sense, unique to its core. Every song off of the album has a different feel to it, yet the entire album, comprised of two separate discs, comes together as a whole to create the latest generation of sounds from Papadosio. The album pulls influences from various genres of music, compiling them together into a sound I have never heard before. Papdosio’s album can be described as danceable yet ambient, overall uplifting, and thoroughly intelligent.
T.E.T.I.O.S., an abbreviation of “To End The Illusion of Separation” took over 3 years to make. Comprised of 2 discs, and 20 tracks, the entire album plays for about two hours. Each track has a specific piece of artwork created for it, and in total the album comes with a 24-page art portfolio. Papadosio offers the album in nearly every format possible, with each format providing the artwork of the album. T.E.T.I.O.S has a spiritual influences stemming from it. Lyrically, Thogmartin sings about love, human relations, and nature. The artwork enhances the sounds and the lyrics, creating a romantic and transcendental sense to the album. Papadosio’s website states the album to be “an effort to catalyze the beautiful and peaceful world that we all know is possible, we give you this collection of art as a sign that we are all moving into that space slowly but surely.”
Stemming from Athens, Ohio, Papadosio is comprised of five band members: Anthony Thogmartin on guitar, keys and vocals; Billy Brous on Keys and Vocals; Mike Healy on drums, Rob McConnell on bass and vocals and the latest addition to the band, Sam Brouse, is on keys and vocals. T.E.T.I.O.S is successful because of each band member; the individual instruments provide solos creating a unique rock sound over the consistent use of the synthesizers. Furthermore, the harmony provided by the vocalists creates an ambient, positive and uplifting sound on several of the tracks. The first song on Disc 1, “Direction Song”, starts off with a memorable line created by the synthesizer followed by immediately empowering, transcendent vocal harmonization. The song speeds up with a repeating guitar and bass riff, as the various instruments come together into a long, smooth jam. The song becomes calm at times, and danceable at times, providing a range of emotions for the listener.
The track “We Are Water” stands out on the album, as it has deep Trip-Hop elements within it. The song opens with a high-noted keyboard riff, followed by a drum and bass collaboration, which creates the initial element of Trip-Hop. As “We Are Water” progresses, the track samples spoken word discussing the importance of water, meshing lines such as “water is the source of the world” over a keyboard solo. At one point during the song the synth is used to create a sound similar to scratching, which finalizes the Trip-Hop elements within the jam-based track. Ultimately, the entire album, as exemplified by this track, demonstrates the intelligent and diverse audio engineering of the recording artists, as well as the band’s ability to evenly showcase both computer generated and acoustic instruments.
“Method of Control” is a track that will be played on repeat for a long time. Its begins with a sample of spoken word, easing into an eerie sound made by the synth and subtle drumming. Once Thogmartin’s amazing and soothing voice enters the track, the sense of ambiance is created as he ranges from quiet, low singing to wailing a loud, long minor key over the keyboard riff, which carries this song. As the synthesizer and dubby bass/drum enters the mix, the song becomes an incredibly danceable tune, which is best described as incredibly catchy. The song, as all tracks on the album do, is a conglomerate of various levels of jam, and is the most easily translatable into the livetronica genre which Papdosio is known for.
“Cue” starts off the second disc, as the twelfth song on the album. It is funky, fun and starts off with a fast paced electric guitar riff. “Cue” continues on with a keyboard solo reminiscent of how horns would be played within a funk song, and the drums carry the song into a sustainable, danceable and fast paced tune. “Planting the Seeds of Life” is the last track on the last disc of T.E.T.I.O.S. The song sounds like a lullaby, sung over a light acoustic guitar, sampling the genre of folk within an electronic jam song. The range of music provided on the second disc parallels the first.
T.E.T.I.O.S. is the fourth published album created by Papadisio and is hands down their best album yet. It is impossible to describe the album within one review, as the sounds of each track range. The funk influences from their past EP By The Light of The Stars, the relaxing electro-jams from their first album MacGreenery, and the experimental and psychedelic sounds of their third album “Observations” are almost stepping stones to Papadosio’s latest creation. “T.E.T.I.O.S.” is a conglomerate of these past sounds, creating one album described by livetronic, electro-jam, funk, experimental, psychedelic rock. The band has evolved, but not changed their sound. Rather they have grown as musicians, and are able to take each of their influences and create their own sound, a sound that has never been heard before.
The album T.E.T.I.O.S. was written and recorded in the home studio of Papadosio, and Mastered by Emily Lazar and Joe LaPorta at The Lodge. The album can be purchased in Digital (mp3 20 or FLAC) or Hard formats available October 16th, 2012, and can be purchased through Papadosio’s website. If you haven’t caught Papadosio on tour yet, their live performance is even more epic then “T.E.T.I.O.S.” is, so be sure to catch them soon! You can read the performance review of Papadosio’s 9/27 Show at the Highline Ballroom here, and catch them on tour until December 31st through out the South and East Coasts.