#patrick damphier

Patrick Damphier “Money in the Meter” (Q Session)

Review by Chris Bull

Release Date: February 1st, 2019

Rating: 3/5

For fans of: New Order, The Drums, Cage The Elephant

Patrick Damphier’s debut album is a time capsule. It takes the listener back to an 80s styled club, with its moody lyrics and haunting music, built only too appropriately to accompany a modern yet dark romance film. 

‘Odd Man Out’, the album’s third track uses synth to tastefully flesh out images of walking through a city, feeling unfamiliar with the surroundings, introspective, yet curious about the world around the listener. Each song makes for easy listening and features plenty of arpeggiated guitars, drenched in chorus, and vocals that ooze with emotion.

‘Pretend It' is the track that stands out the most. Its catchy guitar riff and powerful chorus make it a playful tune, one which stays true to the emotional ambivalence of the album. The guest vocals from Molly Parden are a powerful boon to the song, reiterating that this is a song best appreciated with the listener, or audience, singing along too. Getting the listener to dance and chant cynical lyrics is the mission of this album. It ultimately achieves this goal, but by the end, it feels as if too few of the songs stick out in a way that is truly memorable after listening. There are brilliant songs, but for the ones that don’t shine, they appear to be divided into those that convey the creative idea effectively, and those that just satisfy the mood and not much more. This album tethers on the cusp of essential listening, but certainly demands attention as someone that could break into thousands of peoples’ playlists in the near future.

Facebook: facebook.com/patrickdamphier

Heavy Heart - Bed Bug

Heavy Heart are a band from London, and their latest single ‘Bed Bug’ is a gorgeous hard-hitting dream pop number. The track feels as if its reinventing grungey shoegaze of the 90s with a sense of something new. The vocals are raspy and melt with the instrumentation deliciously - think ‘Don't Let It Bring You Down’ by Annie Lennox but reinvented for the 21st Century. Simply gorgeous.

Ryan Vanicin - Reflections

American singer-songwriter Ryan Vanicin takes inspiration from 90s era hard rock/grunge bands like Alice in Chains and Soundgarden, and that’s exactly the vibe you get from ‘Reflections’, but translated through the lens of a contemporary singer-songwriter. His voice is husky and deep, there are country and blues twangs, and there’s definitely a retro nod. The lyrics tell a tale, which is a match made in heaven with the emotional instrumentation, and it’s hella catchy too. Ultimate heartthrob material.

The Weadon Boys - High and Low

The Weadon Boys are an American rock duo, and ‘High and Low’ experiments with blues, country, and 60s rock, for a truly powerful composition which soars in the gorgeous crescendos. It kicks off mellow and takes you on a sonic journey inspired by the power of the consciousness You can really feel how the inspiration for the song flows into its body and spirit.

Caroline Lazar - Chicago

Alternative singer-songwriter Caroline Lazar shines on her single ‘Chicago’. With the current influx of female indie singer-songwriters, Caroline is a great fit. The lyrics are potent, and the chorus has a fantastic hook where the vocals are at their best. Just armed with a guitar, Caroline manages to have your full attention for the whole track - her voice powerful and dominating, yet sweet at the same time. A truly joyous listen.

Patrick Damphier - Be My Jury (featuring Richard Swift & Jessica Lee Mayfield)

Nashville singer-songwriter Patrick Damphier’s single ‘Be My Jury’ is taken from his debut album Say I’m Pretty. This track is breath-taking, and nothing short of a faultless concoction of 80s inspired indie and synth pop, evocative of the deep stirring emotion you feel when you listen to bands like Tears For Fears. The track is cinematic, and you feel fully immersed in the world it creates. It’s such a triumphant accomplishment.

Patrick Damphier - “Odd Man Out” (Live w/ Molly Parden)

Many thanks to Atwood Magazine for the premiere on this new Patrick Damphier video for “Odd Man Out” - a track taken from his forthcoming record, Say I’m Pretty (due Feb 1st).

The video works as a companion piece to the previously released live performance of “Killers in the Closet” with the same all-star band backing Damphier up but here we have Molly Parden providing guitar and vocal accompaniment. 

Patrick Damphier - “Killers in the Closet (Live)” Debut

Many thanks to the Nashville Cream for debuting the latest from Patrick Damphier - a live version of “Killers in the Closet” from his forthcoming Say I’m Pretty debut album.

Not to give away the surprise but the video features two bands performing equal halves of the songs. Jessie Baylin lends her beautiful vocal talents on the second half of the song but both bands are filled with worthwhile notables - Rollum Haas from Coupler, Ben Parks & Rodrigo Avendano of Sun Seeker, Charlie Shea of Charlie and the Evil Mothers and Todd Bolden, Thayer Sarrano, Megan McCormick and Craig Hamilton. 

Read more about the making of the video and the song over on the Nashville Cream site.

Nashville band Pale Houses has released their new single “Hideaway,” which you can listen to below. The track will appear on their upcoming EP Songs of the Isolation due out on March 30th. To celebrate the EP, they group will be playing a release party at The High Watt in Nashville with Kyle Andrews, Patrick Damphier, and Poly for support.