Josh Patrice – Clever Titles

There are times when we all need some calmy music to get us through the hectic working week, and this particular album kept me relaxed since I stumbled upon it a couple of weeks ago. Clever Titles is a debut full-length recording by Josh Patrice, former co-founder/songwriter in Donerail, lead guitar player of Charming Birds, and contributor to other smaller bands of the Pacific Northwest. Considering his previous contributions to the local music scene and his current solo career, I can only conclude that we’re dealing with a highly experienced musician whose ideas and capabilities are going way beyond the standards of the contemporary indie rock scene.

Clever Titles delivers harmonious indie rock sound through nine cathartic compositions. However, there’s even more than meets the eye. Besides a sheer dominance of almost echoic indie rock sound, you may stumble upon the elements of indie pop, rock’n’roll, blues rock, Americana, and country. All these ingredients are getting along perfectly during the entire album and undoubtfully operating in harmony. At some moments, you may hear resemblance with the music of Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, John Lennon, and The Beatles, but with a little bit more Americana involved along the way. However, Clever Titles resonates in a very unique manner, so this material avoids any closer comparisons with the beforementioned artists.

John Patrice incorporates so many styles throughout the entire recording. Therefore, you may notice some traditional indie-folk chord progressions, classic rock’n’roll articulations, calmy arpeggios, and gentle slide guitar technics. Josh balances between entirely acoustic to semi-distorted performances with such ease, but you will also stumble upon almost high gain guitar shreds at powerful choruses. The rhythm section keeps everything in line with moderate tempos that are more than appropriate for this particular sound. Each instrument operates as a vital cog in sonic machinery, and I couldn’t imagine Americana-infused indie rock music performed in any other way than this. This specific approach to indie rock sound undoubtfully goes in favor of Josh’s vocal performance, which completely suits the presented music. Clever Titles is available at streaming services such as Spotify, Bandcamp, and Soundcloud. Head over to your preferred service and give it a listen.