Kevin Patrick - Songs of Love and Loss

Kevin Patrick

Songs of Love and Loss
self-released; 2016

3.6 out of 5

By Jamie Funk

Kevin Patrick is a singer/songwriter currently residing in Minnesota who recently released Songs of Love and Loss. He plays a good amount of singer/songwriter style folk with some pop and rock thrown in. 

His drummer recorded him with a basic setup and the results are the typical lo-fi DIY sound that you can achieve with the bare minimum of recording gear. I’ll say up front that Patrick has a number of things going for him. The most evident to me was that he not only has a good voice but a great voice. He really can sing and that comes out even through the lo-fi recording. 

The main issue which is more a product of the time we live in is that Patrick has a familiar sound. It’s really hard these days to have people take notice if you are sticking to strumming a couple of chords on a guitar with not much else to accompany your voice. 

There were times I thought even a basic picking pattern would have helped. For instance on “The Wake” the guitar didn’t need to crunch and this track begged for drums and bass. He opens with “The Terminal” which is one of the highlights. His vocals carry the song. Unfortunately the drum recording just isn't there. Everything else sounds pretty good and as the song progressed I couldn't help but think of The Beatles.

Patrick strips things down after that. “Fragile Eyes” revolves around a couple of major and minor chords. His lyrics cover a familiar topic. He sings, “I love her enough to let her go / Feelin' high by layin' low / Searchin' for a heart that's locked away.”

The next four songs all center around his guitar and vocals. The guitar has a different tone on each song with the most successful being “Those Three Words.” Patrick includes drums on the closer “Twice as Nuts.” The song is a highlight. I also noticed the drums sound much better on this song. The kick drum isn't even comparable to the first track.

Patrick has talent; I just want him to think about how he can stick out from the crowd a little bit more. Overall, this creates a solid foundation from him to build off of. 

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