The Return Of Pachyman by Pachyman album review by Fran González Aparicio. The full-length comes out on August 13, via ATO Records

6.5

The Return Of Pachyman

Pachyman

It’s not a coincidence that Pachy García has decided to come back in a weird summer like this one. Precisely now, when we are so eager to disconnect from reality and feel positive vibes, he bring us The Return Of Pachyman to shine a light into our spirits when we need it most.

We don’t know where the L.A.-based Puerto Rican artist went, but we feel amazingly blissful to have him back. After his last chapters with Permanent and Mock Records, the multi-instrumentalist celebrates his recent signing to ATO Records, with the release of his third studio album, The Return Of Pachyman.

It’s easy to identify how much Garcia enjoys his comfort zone, embracing his love of old-school reggae. On the track, “Let’s not fool ourselves,” Pachyman, sounds similar to previous recordings, and that makes the album slightly predictable. His language keeps inviting you to join an eternal and never-ending soundsystem party on a Jamaican beach, under a burning sun and a huge cloud of happiness fumes. Over the last few years, García has been the lead-vocalist and drummer in the synth-punk band Prettiest Eyes, which shows his versatility as a musician, on various tracks of the album.

The cheerful and charming guitar plucking in “El Benson”, the warm beats on “Big Energy” or the strong bass line in “Destroy The Empire,” were ideas we already have seen in his work before, but, when we go into the fresh tracks is when we discover some of his freshest sounds. “Sunset Sound” is a delightful flirt with the 60s space age sound and probably one of the most surprising pieces of the album, where its rogue lo-fi keyboards make you think about an elegant pool in a vintage posh hotel. “Ruben Durazo” is a homage to the Californian trombonist and also his partner in crime and friend, who joins him in a track totally dominated by wind rhythms, or “Space Station,” where the reggae echoes derive in a cosmic atmosphere that will transport you, with its rawness and distortion. Predictably, It doesn’t take too long for him to return to his well-known terrain with songs like “Roots Train” or “Dub Fellowship”.

On The Return of Pachyman, Garcia, imagines what an album made by King Tubby or Scientist would be nowadays, and the result is a very solid instrumental dub record and a sweet tribute to the reggae’s golden era heroes. Full of hopefulness and joyful presages. After all, Pachyman’s only ambition is to make us dream of a carefree summer where we can raise our hands and feel in tune with a universe that still belongs to us. 

Order “The Return Of Pachyman” by Pachyman HERE

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