I was enraptured by the sound of local musician Brett Bullion at first listen late last fall. His solo band, Tarlton, features intelligible drums accompanied by straightforward synthesized melodies. I have been anxiously awaiting Tarlton’s second and latest EP, Papa Theses. The album is named and presumably founded on advice given to Bullion by a friend nicknamed “Papa”: Sit down, set up quickly, have your tea, and play.

The album features three tracks, averaging over eight minutes each. The first track, “Overport,” opens on a thick-sounding synthesizer that seemed promising and indicative of the good musicianship to follow. The piece drones on until after three minutes, when all sounds cease except for what I would imagine a snare drum panting from exhaustion would sound like.

“Overport” flows nearly seamlessly into “Papa Thesis” with background textures that relax. Drawn-out and synthesized orchestral strings are fuzzed and characterize the duration of the song. Hesitant notes eventually chime a melody that tests itself among the other sounds apparent in the song’s core. The Papa Theses EP gives an ominous feeling of uncertainty to its tracks, none of which contain vocals. The final track, “Bol,” seems more of a separation from the album’s other tracks, emphasizing cymbal use and sounds redolent of deep space.

Overall, the sound feels experimentally cathartic—begging the question of what can be left behind?—amounting to a somewhat lackluster release. The focus of Tarlton’s music has been and continues to be about drums and rhythm; however, the beats now feel commonplace and overworked, lacking the energy to separate them from being sounds to being something that can be appreciated for artistic quality and inventiveness. Nonetheless, Papa Theses will keep your feet tapping and head bobbing in that surface level enjoyment that seems to be everpresent these days.

You can see Tarlton live and watch Bullion sculpt his sound piece by piece, on March 13 at the Papa Theses release show at 7th Street Entry. Papa Theses will be available in stores everywhere or via www.afternoonrecords.com on March 10.