Picture Day: A PawPaw Rod Album

the take

This guy can write an effin song, man. As with his original EP, PawPaw Rod has an outstanding ear for groove. His particular voicing of funk is lighter, airier than what we may preconceive for funk. And while PPR clearly pulls from many sources, making it not necessarily obvious in what genre he operates, I do think his primary mode is funk. Clearly he takes a lot of inspiration from Nile Rodgers, which you can hear in the funk/disco guitars across the album. You hear that most directly on "I Wish," a house-y number with a liquidy, chucking, Niles-style rhythm guitar and a bassline that conjures memories of Yeezus/TLOP era Kanye or Mac Miller's funkier collaborations with Thundercat on Swimming. The other most notable guitar song here is Lights Down Low, which uses another flanged-up, soulful guitar riff over a fat, juicy, low end of the low end bassline and culminates in a tactfully restrained guitar solo. It is clear that PPR's main influence, however, continues to be Tyler, the Creator, and, dare I say, he is Tyler's best influence. Whereas Tyler leans more into raps and synths, PPR goes more for melody and bass. That's not to say the rapping and synths aren't quality for PPR, but they're not the main attraction. To best hear Tyler's influence, check out the bridge on the penultimate track, Give It To Me Straight, a sparkly synth-y (in the chorus) reggae-curious cut. The keyboard chords are of the lush, complex, shocking, head-turning variety Tyler typically employs. That is to say, this bridge is a startling highlight of this record. You can also hear a good deal of Kid Cudi reverence in PPR's vocal and melodic delivery throughout. I also heard melodic vestiges of Andre 3000, Chance the Rapper, DRAM, and Young Thug here and there. This is yet another highly enjoyable work from PPR. At a crisp and clean 12 songs and only 32 minutes, its replay value is very high. At the time of this writing, I would contend there are NO SKIPS, and if you like funk at all, you will like this album.