From the very first bars of Patience Please’s brand new EP Miles Away it becomes abundantly clear that this an album with a distinct fingerprint. A warm, short listen that doesn’t overstay its welcome, excelling on all fronts as it proceeds through its runtime of 6 songs. Let’s find out more.
Patience Please is a rock trio based in London. Their full and well-fed sound comes courtesy of guitars from frontman Ollie Palmer and guitarist Arthur Marriott, with Tommy Lane on the drums. The blending of the sounds that the three Englishman make is absolutely rich, as is almost every minute on Miles Away.
The album starts with ‘Wasting Time’. A powerful, wistful ballad that reminded me of the emotional weight of Travis’s music. While the voice of Palmer is totally different from that of Travis frontman Fran Healy, both of them deliver in a tangible, heartfelt, and genuinely emotional way that made my mind put them in the same school. Musically, the song is obviously led by the crunchy and colorful guitars of Palmer and Marriott. The mix is astoundingly lush. A truly gorgeous sounding recording with a lot of compositional nuance that makes this cut an immediate attention grabber, getting listeners prepped for what is about to come.
‘Miles Away’ comes next. The titular cut makes without the wistfulness of the opening cut, replacing the slow-paced melancholy with arena-sized riffs and a manic, jumpy energy that’s neither brooding nor saccharine. A balanced offering that showcases Palmer’s vocal prowess and Lane’s grooving capabilities. ‘Pretend’ lands the trio’s style in the court of early 00s showstoppers Green Day and Blink 182. With its chugging power chords, wailing modulated, atmosphere-building guitars, and simplistic groove, ‘Pretend’ is a no frills pop rock stunner that continues to show absolute songwriting maturity from Patience Please.
The EP’s latter half begins with the soft and melodic ‘Madelaine’. Opting for cleaner guitars and a more subdued arrangement for this sweet love song with brushed snares and a deep, buoyant bass, ‘Madelaine’ brushes swiftly by the country rock side of things. A precious, soothing, and restrained piece that sets a gorgeous mood, and lets it run uninterrupted by distractions. Another showcase for the band’s mature songwriting. Following up is ‘Miracle’, arguably the album’s centerpiece. At least for me. This cut excels with a fantastic showcase of strength, a fantastically capable vocal part, and a superb display of dynamic control between the subdued, syncopated verses, and a chorus that lets it all out with gargantuan, single bass notes that play with each chord, enough to fill up the soundscape. The guitars solo is also a thing of beauty.
The album then concludes with ‘I Want It I Got It’. A cut that tickles with rockabilly tendencies for a fun and exciting finisher to a superb collection of brilliantly crafted and executed songs. Patience Please effortlessly shake their sound and style on demand on Miles Away, while maintaining a clear sonic identity that gets established very early on. An amazing new discover for sure.
