"State of the Heart" by Patrick Droney: in brief
Photo credit: Blythe Thomas
I discovered Patrick Droney last year while checking out new releases on Spotify. I remember enjoying what I was hearing. But there are times where I listen to songs without even looking who sing them. That was the case for him. So I forgot about his song (sorry !!) until my friend (shout out Roderick !!) told me to listen to this guy called Patrick Droney and to listen to EVERY SONG. He knows my tastes so he knew I’d love his music. So I did. I listened to every song on Spotify. While listening to his songs, I remembered “The Wire” and thought “oh I heard this before !!” I kinda felt guilty for not studying his music the first time I heard it. But “The Wire” is massive. An anthem. My friend was right, I LOVED his songs. Zero bad songs or "okay” songs. Each song was incredible.
I recently got back to his music last week and listening to his stuff has become a consistent thing to do. His debut album State of the Heart is definitely my favorite release of 2021. And I think it is going to become one of my favorite records of all time. Every song is brilliant, his vocals are incredible and the production is perfect. Every song on this record is timeless. “Where You Are” is hands down my favorite. I’m obsessed with the melodies. It’s the song I’ve been listening on repeat. The production is huge. I’m not going to lie, hearing the sax on the production made me happy. It took the song to another level. Absolutely stunning. “Where You Are” has reached over 1 M streams on Spotify so it’s good to see I’m not the only one loving it :) I also hear that sax on “Nowhere Town” and it made me want to love the song even more lol :) What can I say… I love this instrument.
“Talk About That”, “Yours in the Morning” and “Little by Little” are also some favorites. The hook on “Little by Little” is fucking incredible. There’s some great emotion and vulnerability in his songs, and it’s one of my favorite things about his music. It’s incredible how he manages to create epic songs while showcasing all these emotions. It’s rare, and that’s one of his biggest strengths as an artist.
Another thing I love about this artist is the photography / cinematography around his projects. Seeing his visuals have been inspiring me to work on my photography / videography skills. That’s how GOOD his art is. I’m a big fan of visuals and especially visuals that have feelings and emotions. And Droney’s art has these specific things. From his photos to his music videos to his social media content. They’re real and honest, just as his songs and it is so beautiful to see. Shout out to Blythe Thomas for killing these visuals.
Patrick Droney is inspiring. His art is inspiring. I rarely listen to albums on repeat nowadays, but State of the Heart is changing the game. Every song has its own story and every song perfectly reflects his artistry. It is honestly impossible to skip any song when listening to this record for the first time. It’s like watching a good movie - and a pretty good one.
Go stream State of the Heart <3