Album Review: "Roy Pablo"

EP: Roy Pablo (2017)
Artist: boy pablo
Label: 777 Records
LB Rating: 4/5 (old rating: 7/10)

Some time earlier this year I stumbled upon a certain meme that contains thumbnails of apparently viral Youtube videos. As a long-time Youtube addict, I was intrigued because I never came across these videos probably because I kept on binge-watching League of Legends stream highlights so the Youtube algorithm kept spam recommending me LoL-related videos. I moved on from being intrigued, thinking that this meme is for normies anyway. That's until one day, I saw one of the thumbnails in my recommended list. I clicked on this specific video and found myself entering a new but somewhat nostalgic world. This video is boy pablo's blowout music video for the song "Everytime".

"Everytime" became my starting line in discovering boy pablo's first EP Roy Pablo released in 2017 under the label 777 records. Roy Pablo is quite brief, only containing six tracks that are short as well, averaging three minutes per song. Google would say that Roy Pablo falls under the pop genre, and I agree. As a delineation, I would say that Roy Pablo is an indie chill pop rock album, if such categorization exists. It's indie in production as well as in style characterized by its self-awareness that it is not from a big music label. It's chill in so far as uses heavy atmospheric instrumentals. It's pop rock due to its simplicity and catchiness, in standard rock format.

The song structure of Roy Pablo's tracks are pretty plain as well. Generally, the EP's tracks follow this structure: intro tune, verse, chorus, intro tune, verse 2, chorus 2, instrument solo, final chorus. As you can see, there is nothing out of the ordinary. This is not to say that the tracks are boring--the simplicity of the structure brings an easy-listen vibe so each track doesn't feel like a chore to go through, like some of the bands I listen to, e.g. Tool. Fortunately, Roy Pablo does not suffer from over-repetition like most unbearable pop songs. In Roy Pablo, there are enough variations between the iterations of the choruses and verses so that the tracks feel fresh throughout a listen.

Alright, here are the highlights of my Roy Pablo listening experience:

Intro-centrism - Roy Pablo songs have this specific technique where their intro tunes are always dominant. Usually, the intro tunes are the loudest and most repeated part of each track. The song structure actually bends for the benefit of the intro tunes. The verses act like intro hangover. They feel like a break from the dominance of the intro so they are usually light, sometimes quiet. The chorus is an organ of its own, but it also usually brings enough life to make me anticipate for the segment after the chorus: a repetition of the intro tune. In essence, listening to the intro tunes is already listening to the bulk of the songs and their feels.

Such intro-centrism creates self-containment each track. The heaviness of the intro tunes is downplayed, uplifted, stretched out, and put to rest by the other segments of the song. Therefore, a song feels complete and independent, like an essay with one carefully laid out idea. This kind of makes it sound boring--a song with only one idea which is the intro tune? The thing with intros of each song is that all of them are so damn catchy. It is so easy to love the intros, therefore the rest of the song only serves to maintain if not increase that love.

The cover art for Roy Pablo, featuring the chill-est face boy pablo can muster. (Image source: Genius)

 
Dreamy tone - My favorite thing about Roy Pablo is how dreamy the songs are. The guitars have a delay and echo effect; the bass is creatively smooth; the drums are steady and dramatic; the keyboards are cloudy and spacey; and the vocals are deep and mellow. These add up to a comfortable atmosphere that almost invades the mind, making life seem easy.

The relaxing harmonies of Roy Pablo remind me of the gentleness of the ocean. In fact, I loved listening to Roy Pablo during a beach day dream because the tunes just fit so well with sound of the crashing waves. These experiences are similar with my experiences with hour-long chill pop videos in Youtube which are also dreamy, relaxing, and beach-friendly except this time, it's in rock format. Roy Pablo, like chill pop vids in Youtube, has the tendency to fill the air and seep in with the ambiance. This is why I would consider Roy Pablo an indie chill pop rock album.

Lyrics: Straightforward or Shallow - The lyricism and songwriting of Roy Pablo is either straightforward or shallow. On one hand, it is straightforward as it does not delve in too much with poetry. The lyrics tell me exactly what happened and how he felt. The charm in this style is that it becomes easy to relate to. At some point, it gets hard-hitting, as in "Ready/Problems".

On the other hand, it is shallow. The lyrics do not leave quite the impression about its word usage or its construction. Everything I hear is as far as it gets--nothing cryptic, poetic, or alluding. However, I'm not mortifying Roy Pablo's simple lyricism; I'm just saying that the lyrics are nothing more than itself.

In addition, I cannot help but notice that boy pablo appears to be a non-native English speaker. It is apparent in his sentence construction, as sometimes it appears to be influenced by a thought process constructed differently from how an English native would. For example, in "Yeah (Fantasizing)", boy pablo sings: The craziest part about all of this is that everyone thinks that I'm the crazy one. It simultaneously makes sense and appears awkward, as I'm certain that it could be phrased in a more natural manner. If it helps, I am a non-native English speaker myself, so I may be exaggerating things a bit here.

Nicolas Pablo Munoz, or as we know him, boy pablo, is a Chilean-Norwegian indie artist from Norway. (Image source: Rate Your Music)

Tracks - Roy Pablo starts with a yeah from "Yeah (Fantasizing)", the first track which feels like pulling the rope to bring the bucket of sweet refreshing water from the well to the surface. It wanders in the beginning, only to finds its bearing right at the end, leading to the next track. The tunes of "Everytime" prove that it is not only popular because of its viral music video. "Everytime" has that quintessential chill beach vibe which, in this case, is so outspoken that I could smell the saltwater in the air whenever I listen to it. I think the second verse and chorus's variation from the first ones are well-crafted as it was able to imbue familiar tunes with a feeling of climax at the same time.

Next comes "Dance, Baby", a track aptly entitled. "Dance, Baby" is the most upbeat song in Roy Pablo with its energized youthful jealousy in its vocals and lyrics. It feels like a soundtrack of a love triangle high school film, decided by which of the guys would be the heroine's prom date. As the song ends like a disco showman, the EP moves on to its shortest track, "imreallytiredthisdaysucks". Roy Pablo's third track sounds like a soundtrack for a dainty playful comedy cartoon show, despite being about a mildly exasperating day. Can't open my eyes but I'm awake is just plainly relatable. The next track, "ur phone" is remarkable for its hypnotic lead guitar tunes during chorus, which repeats and repeats without overdoing itself. The lyricism of "ur phone" however comes off as pretty shallow, even for the standards of the EP, but it seems to be part of its charm.

Finally, Roy Pablo ends with "Ready/Problems", my favorite track from the EP. It starts with a Chamber of Reflection-ish intro, which sets the gloomy tone of the song. "Ready/Problems" hits hard for me, as I am not foreign to this are-you-really-not ready-or-are-you-just-making-excuses-to-reject-me sentiment. Right place, wrong time from the chorus would have me tearing up on an exceptionally sad day. Such success of "Ready/Problems" in plucking specific emotions out of me makes the song outstanding in my opinion.

boy pablo and his band, who consists mostly of his relatives. (Image source: The Upcoming)

Live performances (bonus) - I guess I should not judge an album by how its played live, but the live performances are nothing short of enjoyable. I appreciate how they seem to not be folding under great pressure (which is definitely there), but instead they appear to genuinely enjoy the stage and each band member's presence. They goof around, play with each other, and improvise to some comedic effect. It's a refreshing sight from new artists who are either following the producer's commands to the letter, or trying too hard to establish that they follow no rules. That said, I am excited because I have an opportunity to see them live here in the Philippines in November. Fingers-crossed that I make it!


As a closing remark, I would like to note that boy pablo has become my entry point to a new wave of indie artists in my life, such as rising popstar slash industry plant Clairo and chain smoking prince Mac De Marco (Yes, I listened to boy pablo first, so I don't know who's copying who). For that, I hold boy pablo with special regard beyond the merit of his music. I'm glad I stumbled upon an awesome piece of art by a genuinely talented artist, foreboding of the potential to be an all-time indie great. For now though, Roy Pablo gets a 7 because as good as the EP is, it still has essential areas that needs to be worked on.



For more information, follow boy pablo on Twitter @soypablo777 or check out his website for updates on his ongoing tour around the world. You can buy his digital album on their Bandcamp.