𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿 - this week: You’re Not Ok (feat. Ryan Ronksley) - Patrick Laurin

Welcome all to 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿, a series of weekly reviews by Charles Connolly - an artist in his own right. Here, Charles delves into the greatest brand new singles brought to you by the best unsigned artists on our electrifying and eclectic set of 𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝘼𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙎𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 playlists.

𝙔𝙤𝙪’𝙧𝙚 𝙉𝙤𝙩 𝙊𝙠 (𝙛𝙚𝙖𝙩. 𝙍𝙮𝙖𝙣 𝙍𝙤𝙣𝙠𝙨𝙡𝙚𝙮) - 𝙋𝙖𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙠 𝙇𝙖𝙪𝙧𝙞𝙣

Charles is getting on with it…

What is comfort? Is it cushions and ice cream? Or how about an evening with the lads? Maybe it’s an idyllic day in the countryside? Could it be that you just like to sit secluded in your car, listening to the best of The Carpenters? Well, comfort can be all these things and more. But there is one thing these all have in common, They are short-lived. It’s not a way of life. You know when someone asks “How are you?”, “How’s it going?”, “How’s life?”, “How’s it hanging?”, “You all right?”, “What’s happening (man)?”, “You good?”, or “What a gwan?”? You habitually and automatically reply something along the lines of Fine, Good, Okay, All right, Alright, Can’t complain, Not too bad, Could be worse, Surviving, You know how it is, Muddling through, Mustn’t grumble, Getting on with it, and so forth. On the surface, these are all pretty positive replies. But the underlying feeling is stagnancy or worse. I’ve always wondered about the expression “Not too bad”. It’s meant to be positive, but if you think about it, it’s overwhelmingly negative. “Things are bad, but not TOO bad”…! Anyway. To be fair, one main reason for an answer like this, is to cut things short and be modest. After all, they only asked out of politeness. They didn’t want a genuine reply! The French have it perfectly: “Ça va?” - “Oui, ça va?” - “Alors”. That’s “How are you?” - “Yes, how are you?” - “So”. They don’t even bother to answer the question, It’s just a case of getting through the mandatory chit-chat as quickly and efficiently as possible.

But why is it like this? Are we that uncomfortable to speak about our own lives? Are we all really that modest? Or are we hiding something? I think it’s a blend of many things. A lot of it will be modesty and not wanting to burden someone else’s life with one’s own. Another reason is time. Ain’t nobody got taam fo’ dat. But also, it is usually not the time or the place to get into the ins and outs of one’s life when they were simply being polite in asking. Another reason is privacy; you’d rather not share your innermost thoughts and feelings with a frivolous wonderer. Perfectly fair enough! Maybe everything’s all just bit too complicated to explain in a line or two… There can be SO many reasons for switching reality for brevity and politesse. But WERE you hiding something? Is your life teaming with struggles and demons? Did this innocent query pinch a nerve? Did you quietly say to yourself “Shaddap shaddap SHADDAAAAPP!!!”. Perhaps the problem is not what is currently happening in your life, but that you are simply not comfortable thinking about it. That you’d rather shove the whole idea into a box in the attic. “Things are fine, OKAY!”. And while things might indeed be “fine”, they could - let’s face it - be finer.

Sometimes it takes an existential crisis of sorts to make you see more clearly. But more often than not, it will be someone very close to you who makes you aware of how things really are, and how things could actually be. Or maybe it's simply more important to you that THEY'RE happy, and so you have reason to alter the way of things. There tends to be a point in life where one simply starts to accept how things are. To go with the status quo (down down, deeper and down). One just goes with the flow. This can happen at any time in life, but it tends to be brought on by one of two things… Laziness and/or fear. Or “moreover” (I still can’t stand the useful word): fear of change. I mentioned stagnancy earlier… This is one of the biggest problems, I think. When life is bad, you attempt to sort it out. When life is “fine”, there’s no passionate impetus to push and to strive for more. But with this one life of ours, this is exactly what we should do. I don’t mean we should try to take over the world, but we should perhaps try to take over our OWN world. To be in control of it. To be the master of your own life. To grab the proverbial bull by the proverbial horns and wear that T-shirt loud and proud: “Proverbs aren’t all a total waste of time!”. Sorry for sounding like a complete and utter idiom.

When you tell people you’re okay, wouldn’t it be nice to actually believe it? You’re not okay. At least, that’s what this week’s artist/s is/are saying… Please welcome a tiny smattering of Canadians, Patrick Laurin and Ryan Ronksley, with ‘You’re Not Ok’. And don’t worry, they’re not criticising you, they’re helping you. Believe me, you’ll thank them later. Let’s start with Ryan, for his share in this musical soupçon is cub-like compared to the full grown lion that is Patrick. Let me explain. Ryan (a guitar tutor by trade) plays the beautiful electric guitar parts in ‘You’re Not Ok’. While most of you might not be familiar with the unforgettable name, Ryan Ronksley, you almost certainly will be familiar with the artist. Ryan is the Naysh of New Artist Spotlight duo, Broselle & Naysh (insistently labelled ‘broselle + naysh’: all lowercase with a ‘plus’. In being a guitar teacher, that alone is proof that he can truly play. But the real proof comes by way of our ears. Every single thing I have heard him play in any style is flawless, and yet so emotive! Effortlessly moving. It doesn’t seem to matter if it is classical plucks of a Spanish variety, or if he’s ripping up the stage with a Gibson into a Marshall stack! He just breathes guitar. So what better person for Patrick to have on his next record!!

The thing is, it actually started with Patrick sending Ryan a demo. Instead of politely replying “Oui, ça va?”, he played all over it and sent it right back! Alors. What was Patrick’s reaction? “Zut”? Non. He liked it. He loved it. In fact, it made him realise that this was more than just a cool thing atop a cool thing. This needed to be part of the official thing. Patrick needed to make a thing of it. So many things. By this point, the song had already been sitting unfinished for 2 years. This was NOT okay. Ryan’s inspiration was the propulsion Patrick needed; the impetus to get this song finished and released. They are, after all, close friends, and both Canadian. How lovely it must be to have a fellow friend and musician on your doorstep… The thing is (more things), Canada’s a big place. Patrick is in Montreal (the East). Ryan is in Calgary (the West). That’s some 2000 miles away from one another (apparently a 37 hour drive). Okay, so not quite on each other’s doorstep. Even their mother tongue differs! But thankfully, God invented the internet. Something that - whether you like it or not - brings us closer. And so, ‘You’re Not Ok’ was born.

Let’s talk all things Patrick (more things). Other than the electric guitar parts, almost everything else was done by Patrick. I say “almost” because a friend of his played the bass (although Patrick wrote the part). But the acoustic guitar, piano, strings, production and mixing was all Laurin. I have however missed out the two stars of the song. One, is the writing. Writing is everything in a song. A song is literally nothing without having been written. Otherwise it’s a silent orchestra waiting to be handed their sheet music. Playing is skill. Writing is art. Just like that bassline: Patrick wrote it (art); his friend played it (skill). Patrick is the artist, which shines through in the second star of the song: his singing. I think it is probably rather difficult (near impossible) to sing without this much emotion, feeling and credibility, if the words are not written by the singer. Patrick Laurin is one of the most underrated singers on the New Artist Spotlight, and possibly throughout the whole independent music scene!

This beautiful slow waltz lulls you into your favourite comfort zone with the softest guitars and nothing more. As Patrick starts to croon, it is as if he is barely singing. It’s more like your own melodic thought as you stare out of the window in contemplation. His technique is unique in using so little breath and so little power, and yet there is intense warmth and compassion. You know how the softest words at close range can affect you so deeply? This is what Patrick manages in purity. The innocence and trust of a choirboy, with the experience of Paul Simon and Jeff Buckley (Lilac Wine). There are also hints of Matt Hales (Aqualung) and C. Duncan in these vocals. But the main comparison I hear here, is Tom Chaplin from Keane. I have always thought of Tom Chaplin as the politest version of Freddie Mercury; therefore rather good. The similarity between Patrick and Tom is not just in tone, but in melody. The finishing of phrases is so familiar and so fond. So warm and poised. Anyone who sings like this must not have a bad bone in their body. And lyrically…? Well, he suggests for us to be brave. To actively change things, no matter how daunting it may seem. That things will not change on their own. But he does this not in a “come on guys, let’s do this” fashion, but more in a loving fatherly way. A willing persuasion (because you know it makes sense). It’s softer but it means more, because it’s from the heart. Of course, I’m possibly entirely wrong, and the song is about something entirely different. But that’s what I take from it. There is optimism in this sombre comfort.

I’m slightly ashamed that I’ve never reviewed either of these boys before. Patrick’s ‘Stuck’ is something special. As for Ryan, I’m sure he’ll be getting his own review at some point. It’s just sometimes unfortunate that brilliant artists release brilliant songs on the same day as other brilliant artists. I can only choose one a week.

In the words of Sheryl Crow, “A Change Would Do You Good”.

So, how was that…? “Not too bad”.

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