By Rich Hobson
Sat somewhere in the realms of indie folk and exhibiting tendencies towards folksy country at times, LA-based musician Field Medic (real name Kevin Patrick) is immersed in a cynical kind of romanticism and nostalgia on his latest record ‘fade into the dawn’. Evoking faint memories of acts like The Moldy Peaches or Mark Lotterman, there is a dryness and darkness to the music which makes it instantly appealing to anybody who finds the all-too-earnest approach of usual one-man-and-his-guitar records all a bit too samey. ‘used 2 be a romantic’, ‘i was wrong’ and ‘the bottle’s my lover, she’s just my friend’ tells you all you need right away; this is a reflective, somewhat bitter but also humorous form of navel gazing, a beacon of recognition for similarly cynical souls.
There is a rawness and scratchiness to the recordings that lends ‘fade into the dawn’ a sense of authenticity that makes it feel like a stream of consciousness musing from the heart. Patrick’s voice has a gentleness that is at times soothing and disarming, evoking the likes of Jeff Buckley or Elliot Smith as caught on a bootleg. But then, there are times when twangs and cracks show in the delivery; much as they were employed by Kurt Cobain, these moments highlight a sense of dogged determinism that betrays raw emotion, the album’s first few tracks positively creaking with voice breaks that somehow make the whole thing even more endearing.
There is something oddly bright and pleasing about the guitar tone often on this record, and yet the subject matter of songs seldom ever treads into openly optimistic territories. Love ballad ‘tournament horseshoe’ feels like a standout moment for the album’s brighter tendencies, the track feeling like it would be comfortable alongside an act like the Violent Femmes in an indie movie (think Wes Anderson, but with much smaller – and less meticulous – production budgets). As though to prove a point that all light moments must also have their sadder counterparts, the follow-ups to this track (‘songs r worthless now’, ‘mood ring baby’) are both much more melancholic, the sugary coat of the previous track downgraded to a more subtle syrup leaking out of small cuts.
Almost entirely acoustic, the record mostly makes use of low-fi production to create a sense of intimacy and candid delivery that can be felt throughout. That said, one of the most overtly ‘produced’ tracks ‘everydayz 2moro’ is one of the most identifiably personal songs on the record, yet also universal in its message of life woes as Patrick bemoans everything from the malaise of everyday life to not having a job, owning your own house and eating junk food.
Stark and confessional, ‘fade into the dawn’ is the kind of record that can appeal to a bout of melancholy as much as it can to just quiet contemplation on a sunny day, an easy balm for the soul that worms its way into your head and promises to burrow in deep.
- ‘fade into the dawn’ is out now. You can get your copy HERE.
- EDITORIAL NOTE: All the song titles are listed as being in lower case, so we have respected that in this review.
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