Oh Papa Papa Les
From upbeat, groovy tunes to laid-back melodies, the new Papa Les EP by Sheffield indie-Americana band Oh Papa covers a range of moods within the span of six songs. Opening track 'Daft' confidently establishes a metallic but smooth guitar-based sound that the band explore in more depth than they did on their last EP, 2016's Dobra.
It's a shame that Oh Papa play it safe throughout the following tracks. Their range only covers mood and tone, and musically they don't submerge themselves in the depths that their obvious talent would allow them to.
The clear influence here is Mac DeMarco, whose lacklustre ghost - stripped of its jazz sensibilities but with its hipster levels amped up - haunts Papa Les, not letting its vague ballads touch on anything profound or memorable. In the end, it turns the EP into a glass of lemonade on a spring afternoon that's still not hot enough to make cold lemonade an absolute necessity.
Despite its meekness, Papa Les is a pleasant listen overall, containing enough musical nuance and nice arrangement work to mask its unreached potential. The solid production and the structural integrity of the songs makes Oh Papa a band to look out for, and one that will no doubt grow and mature in the coming years. Papa Les is not memorable because of its music, but because of its performers.
Máté Mohos
