Chances are if you’re familiar with Patrick Bates, the local singer-songwriter whose latest EP, Feathers and Pearls, came out this week, it’s under a slightly different name. His real name is Patrick Ball, and it’s under that name that he’s been working as a soundman for over a decade, both locally and with nationally touring acts like Phantogram, The Antlers, and The Head And The Heart.
Chances are if you’re familiar with Patrick Bates, the local singer-songwriter whose latest EP, Feathers and Pearls, came out this week, it’s under a slightly different name. His real name is Patrick Ball, and it’s under that name that he’s been working as a soundman for over a decade, both locally and with nationally touring acts like Phantogram, The Antlers, and The Head And The Heart. He’s also played several different instruments in a variety of indie rock, electronic, jazz and other projects around town. But now he’s claiming the spotlight as a solo performer, and Feathers & Pearls reveals that he’s 100% ready for his closeup.
Feathers and Pearls is not just a collection of recent tunes; the four songs contained on the EP all focus on different aspects of the same subject–a relationship between Bates and a German woman he met in Berlin while on tour. Over the course of the four songs, Bates tells the tale of the relationship, from its enchanted beginnings through to the heartbreaking denouement.
All of the songs are structured around Bates’ vocals and guitar playing, which take center stage throughout. Reverb is also a major player on the EP, and Bates reveals that “a lot of the reverbs used are simulations of actual rooms in Berlin.” Digital recording technology is really something, isn’t it? Producer Adrian Olsen (Avers, Hypercolor) captured the sounds at Montrose Studios, which has produced a variety of other excellent RVA releases in recent months.
Part of what makes Bates’ new EP so breathtaking is its incredibly dynamic character. Songs often move from quiet solo performances at their outset to loud, dramatic full-band crescendos. Nowhere is this more evident than in opening track “German Muse,” which spends its first minute or so tricking you into believing this entire EP will be a solo performance before adding layers of instrumentation that build to the kind of loud yet gorgeous apex one may be familiar with from bands like Explosions In The Sky–only here, Bates’ vocals provide an additional layer that really draws out the emotional impact from the music. “Waltz Of Noel,” by contrast, sets Bates’ acoustic guitar (in contrast to the electric on “German Muse”) over a string section anchored by a deep, melancholy cello part.
The moods expressed on Feathers and Pearls vary quite a bit during its relatively short running time, but the emotional depth and musical proficiency of Bates and his many backing players is on display throughout–and the way each song runs immediately into the next emphasizes this work’s creation as a unified whole, rather than merely a series of disconnected pieces. It’s really best you listen to it all at once. Stream the entire Feathers & Pearls EP below.
You can pick up your own digital copy of Feathers and Pearls on iTunes HERE if you want to support Bates’ musical efforts. However, if you’re feeling strapped for cash, Bates has also made downloads of the EP available for free on his website–so take advantage of that offer while he’s still in a giving mood.
Keep up with what Patrick Bates has going on by liking him on Facebook: facebook.com/pages/Patrick-Bates/328600727565. Follow him on twitter @patrickbatesrva.
