Patient Patient, Professionals and Convicts

Patient Patient’s first album, Professionals and Convicts, is a quality album, full of hard-boiled, determined tracks. This group from Bellingham, Washington, has crafted a powerful and balanced piece with form more mature than usually seen in a first release. They’ve been compared to Radiohead, but Patient Patient’s appeal is ultimately distinct, with separate walls of sound all carried by Neal Burton’s devoted voice. He leads the music in dynamic fashion, preaching like Billy Corgan, except more able to sustain the dramatics in a believable way.

The songs are well built, toughly coordinated, though they meander just enough to not be catchy. “Without Arms” powerfully starts the album with a swaying acoustic intro, followed by a steady build to rock velocity. It pushes and touches with gusts of exclamation. “March of a Million” swells with emotion and a demanding, driving beat, starting with a convulsive pulse and finishing with a march to move the masses. “Deus ex machina” rises and falls with raw energy and Burton’s high crying tones.

Going a step further, “Nyctalopia” gives a good sense of Burton’s indulgence for the sound he’s crafted in the album and what we can expect from the band in the future: cold, sad lyrics brought to life with real rock attitude, without flying off the rails. Patient Patient is a sure-footed act, not so pre-occupied with sonic patchwork that it gives listeners a fractured experience. There’s something more intense and final in its design. This band is no one-trick pony.