Ricardo Papaya Wants You to Listen to The Symptones New EP
Review by: Dani Erin, Writer @danierinmusic
Edited by: Andrew Perrizo, Owner/Editor @melodicnoisemedia
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I need to tell you a secret. Come here, come a little closer. Ok, that's a little too close. I am gonna tell you something really important. Do not and I repeat DO NOT sleep on The Symptones. I have been hearing their name around town but came into this listen pretty blank slated. I like to do that from time to time so I am either pleasantly surprised or on the rare occasion bewildered by what the fuck I just listened to. Happily, when I took a moment to take in The Symtones 4 track EP I felt a little embarrassed to be honest and started questioning myself. Have I been living under a rock (again)? Who are the Symtones and why did it take me this long to allow them into my ear holes? Did I turn the coffee maker off? So many questions but maybe through this review I can answer a few of them.
This 4 track EP is like a buffet. It has a little something for everyone. You also get a clear sense of all their influences, and I feel they have many but The Symptones sound uniquely fresh and authentically real. Their EP is called Ricardo Papaya. Now I don’t know who that is and I'm not even sure it's a real person. However, if this person is real I would want to have a beer with them, maybe a lot of beer and whiskey. I feel we would get into the good kind of trouble where the night ends in almost a “Hangover” style situation where no police car is safe and inevitably, we end up in Vegas…married. Anyways the first track is called “MRI” and it's a perfect introduction to the EP. Not only is the band tight but the singer Taylor Tuomie’s voice draws you in. You can't not like this guy's voice; he takes you along for the ride. Some voices just have that ability and it's rare. It's like your favorite sweater, so comforting. The drummer, Steven George on this track is also exceptionally played, it feels like a heartbeat throughout. The intro alone is this slow build, I love when bands do this. They don't give it all away. They let it be a slow burn. In a world of instant/fast paced everything, its refreshing to slow it the fuck down once in awhile. I highly recommend it.
The next track is “Had it Coming” which is my favorite on the EP. I'm gonna try to be as specific as possible but sometimes you just hear a song and say ‘yep. ‘You might not know why it's a ‘yep’ but everything about it feels good. Ugh, I know that might be an infuriating explanation and you are probably like that is vague AF. Okay, let me try something different. There is not one thing I would change about this song. From the lyrics to the melody and let's talk about one super important thing The Symptones do really well, they build throughout a song. You hear it in the orchestration and most importantly you hear it in his voice. It's the slow burn I'm going to keep coming back to. This is a very hard skill to master and yet they make it sound effortless. Maybe you listen to this song and say I don't get it? That's fine but skip to 3:11 and you will see the light. It's right there in his voice. This is a top 5 song I have heard from a local band all year.
Third up is “Wind Up Toy” and I will say I should have known by the title that we have now passed the crab rangoon and eggrolls portion of the buffet and have headed into the sesame chicken and low mein portion of this smorgasbord. The meat and potatoes if you will. I like that they threw this song in as it is a hell of a lot different from the first two tracks and unticked my anxiety I might add. As I was listening, I glanced down at my phone and said, “Awww yes this track title makes perfect sense.” Well played Symptones, well played. It really captures the message of the song. Opening line “hey you little wind up toy, what's got you down today?” I gotta give praise again to Steven George (drummer) on this one, he holds this song down from flying off the rails. He must burn like 600 calories from playing this song alone. I'm gonna pop a Xanax, be right back.
Okay I'm back, the last track “Palace of Straw” showcases their songwriting abilities and again this build I keep harping on. Listen and listen carefully to the lyrics. Then all the sudden this horn solo comes in from Jake Nemec and slaps you right across the face. Then boom this haunting female vocalist (Autumn Vagle) does this call back thing and then my goodness you are ready for a fortune cookie and a cigarette. From this track you get a sense that they had fun making this EP, like they are a band you would want to have some whiskey with and perhaps you all end up in Vegas together. When I asked the lead singer/guitar player Taylor Tuomie how they create a song he said “we always allow for ideas to flow naturally - like the ideas of bringing in Autumn and Dave to make the songs become what they wanted and needed to be. But really, when inspiration strikes - whether I’m alone, or with just one of the guys from the band, we just start working it out. Maybe home demos with programmed drums that turn into completely different things when the band takes over. Maybe something comes from a riff we’re jamming at band practice. Needless to say, we’re still working out the kinks of the Song-Writer-O-Mattic machine, but it’s getting better with each passing day.”
As I fear we are headed even further away from full records (sigh) a new door is opening for EP’s. I think everyone can take a page out of The Symptones playbook as their EP showcases the best they have to offer and like I said before it has something for everyone. I will totally understand if you order Chinese food tonight and I encourage it but just remember one thing. Take your time and remember in a fast-paced world, it's never a bad idea to slow down and let things slow burn.
Now I just had to ask The Symptones the question that has haunted me ever since I have had their EP on repeat. Who the fuck is Ricardo Papaya and this was their response, “Ricardo Papaya is a mystical man. A spirit. A guiding light. You may find him inhabiting the soul of a scrappy dog on the island of Isla Holbox, where the photo on the cover of our EP was taken. You may find him leading your fingers to hit a certain note on a guitar you normally wouldn’t dare to try. Perhaps he gives your homemade guacamole that extra bit of flavor that cannot be replicated by modern culinary technology. He’s a great friend, he’s a timeless wanderer. Or perhaps more accurately, he and his name are slightly inspired by his brother’s namesake ice cream flavor - Alfonso Mango. These things cannot be taken lightly, nor said with certainty. But one thing is for sure, Ricardo Papaya lives on in us all. And he also owes us like $40.”
Follow the Symptones on Instagram and check out their music on bandcamp.
