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Artist Direct When two major acts of the new year are playing right after you, there seems little or no chance to really be heard by the audience. Taking the stage all alone with nothing but an acoustic guitar for his armor, Patrick Park slowly but surely began to win over a slightly rowdy full house waiting for main acts the Thrills and My Morning Jacket. Though he has been compared to Bob Dylan and other '60s acoustic icons, with his powerful voice and bitter lyrics he more resembles Neil Finn. Park's strong vocals, ringing out like a folk singer from Ireland's ancient times, bounce off the walls and command all to listen. And with brutally honest lines like "Try to forget how the world doesn't need you around" ('Honest Skrew'), one can't help but be entranced and taken with the heartbreaking performance. With his fierce guitar plucking and strumming echoing the sweetness of Badly Drawn Boy, Park turns his one instrument into an intricate symphony of sounds to fill the room. Up on the stage, alone and bare, he sounds more like an '80s British singer-songwriter who gives everyting he has and never quite gets his dues paid back. The voice that is so domineering and soulful sometimes gets close to breaking point when the high notes and emotion overcome him, but the strain only adds to the overload of feelings directed at every audience member. The album itself, Loneliness Knows My Name, is sure to cause a stir, as it was produced by Wilco and My Morning Jacket molder Dave Trumfio. And being handpicked to open for Beth Orton on her 2002 U.S. tour has done no harm either. By baring his soul, Park has learnt to be both warming and chilling at the same time. Hearts will be broken and mended by the sound of his voice, which is all any folk-cum singer/songwriter can ask to do, and all that Park aims for. If any one of his songs were on a perfect soundtrack, it would nestle comfortably between an acoustic Red House Painters lament and a solo Neil Finn performance. Here's looking forward to that day when we find him on such a soundtrack. NME : London Camden The Enterprise August 8 There's a dark veil over the songs on his debut album 'Loneliness Knows My Name', and hints of a protected past. As he's a karate expert and ex-bouncer, you might not push too hard either. Tonight's tiny venue provides an intimate setting to hear the countrified layers of his album stripped away to reveal a raw folk/blues tinged talent, letting Park's voice soar like the mighty howl of an early Van Morrison or dead folky Nick Drake. While amiable, Park is a man of few words and seems that he is never going to tell us what these songs are about: the mix of bile and beauty that makes 'Honest Skrew' such a tender threat, the weary gorgeousness of 'Something Pretty ("walked a million miles in tobacco skin") and the unnerving mystery of 'Bullets by the Door', which hints ominously at terrorism and retribution. When a mobile erupts during the set, the modern communication age seems surreal. Patrick Park is keeping his old-fashioned secrets tantalisingly close to his chest, and for that he is the most intriguing prospect in town. PopMatters Armed with an acoustic guitar, a whole lot of charisma, and more than a little angst, Park led the small crowd through a quiet, but fierce, set. The most obvious thing about him was his almost gleeful lack of pretence. No schmoozing the crowd. No trying to be anything other than what he is. When you see a Patrick Park show, the music is the star. And in a music business over saturated with pre-packaged studio acts, an artist like Patrick Park is a welcome breath of fresh air. Though Park plays music that can be easily classified as folk or even alt-country-folk, his punk roots are evident. Many of Park's songs traverse love's rocky terrain, but his lyrics are never trite or syrupy; instead they are honest, personal, and sometimes ugly. Park is a fearless singer who frequently sings out of the bounds of his natural range and it works. Park's voice during the gorgeous "Honest Skrew" was all rasp and passion. "Wake up next to you, honest screw / Because you always go too far / So, you slip slowly out, to sit in the next room / And eat your breakfast in the dark / It won't feed your cold and lonely heart". Strongly reminiscent of Kurt Cobain, with a little Morrissey thrown in for good measure, Park sang the song as if he were still waist deep in the muck. Park ran through songs from both his modest back catalogue and his newest release, Under the Unminding Skies, including "Past Poisons", another fine example of the power of Park's lyrical content. "You're just another one of last summer's dreams / Your eyes are blue, and your seas are green / Some small consolation you get for a while / So drink down your sorrows and their crooked ass smiles." His voice during "Past Poisons" was strong and defiant. "Nothing's Wrong", a beautiful country-inspired folk song with soaring vocals over a gentle tinkling guitar, and the well-crafted pop-folk of "Home for Now" were both captivating live. During "Bullets by the Door" it became clear that Park is not only a strong singer-songwriter, but also a fine guitar player. His finger picking is impressive, but even more exciting is his ability to play lead, rhythm and bass on the acoustic guitar. Park is also a bit of a perfectionist. After missing a note during "Your Smile's A Drug", he blurted a spontaneous "fuck" and cracked an unexpected … wait, was that a smile? Perhaps, but it was brief. A flash, really. Kind of like a late-night apparition you might think you see out of the corner of your eye. A WEEKLY JAN 6, 2003 LA WEEKLY : Live in L.A Park's show at the Hotel Cafe last Friday was sparsely attended, with some cloth-ears even leaving in the middle ("See you guys," Park said affably as they walked out). Somehow, it only made the show feel more, you know, exclusive, secret and important. Park had trouble tuning his guitar, apologizing repeatedly ("I'm fucking tone-deaf tonight") and made a few boo-boos while playing. It didn't really matter. In fact, Park has a way of using his weaknesses to his advantage. If anything, he sings above his natural range, letting his voice grow thin and even break at times, to lovely effect. Park also has a refreshingly unpretentious stage manner: He just stands there, hardly moving, singing his songs with his head thrown back, as if that were enough. It is. LA New Times - July 18-24, 2002 LA Weekly - May 19, 2002 |
