Joe Patrick
All the Walls
Crazy River Records
Joe Patrick is the next great songwriter. Forget the over-hyped Bright Eyes and fix your ears on someone who can actually write and sing one fabulous song after another. On his full-length debut, Patrick immediately asserts himself as the leader of the next generation of singer/songwriters, and he has proof.
The drink-your-cares-away toast “Whiskey Drown” won the Billboard Music Prize for song of the year in the country category, and it is sure to become an instant classic with the sing-along chorus, “It’s just a mental breakdown made for two/ In this whiskey bottle I’ve been swimming thru.” And this is just the beginning.
“Take the Time” showcases Patrick’s jamming abilities and guitar prowess, taking the shortest song lyrically and making it the longest on the album. He knows his roots with songs like the old-school country sounding “Sunset Blvd.” and the insanely catchy opener “It’s Strange.” He knows contemporary music as well. “Throwing Bombs” sounds a lot like Son Volt’s “Highway 61.” Patrick can also take any emotion or situation and turn it into something beautiful. The best example is, “Details of here and there/And the goings on upstairs/And the ash tray bares the signs of smokes that left behind/Familiar times,” from the poppy Bottlefly-esque “Bottle Cap.”
With lyrics that hearken back to the days of Hank Williams, music that is instantly catchy and stays with you and a voice that is a mix of Jeff Tweedy and Gram Parsons (two of his biggest influences), Patrick is on the launching pad of success, and he is going to take off.
Joe Patrick: http://www.joepatricksmusic.com
