I’m not saying that Jim Patton & Sherry Brokus write simple songs. If they do, there is a certain sonic sophistication applied to them that belies such a structure. But I would say that they write songs that cut to the heart of the simpler life. Not for them grand statements and evocative rhetoric, self-aggrandisement, or egoic outbursts. The songs found on Two True Loves are the songs of everyday folks and everyday lives; they are honest, heartwarming, and relatable.
It is an ethos found in the opening salvo of the album. “I Want it All” might sound as if they are asking for the moon, but the beauty of the song is that the things that Jim lays out in his list of demands would be better labeled “simple pleasures and quality of life.” It’s pretty humbling, really.
The title track is a cool blend of Byrds-esque guitars and a driving groove, accompanied by an infectious chorus with a humorous punchline, one that many of us will identify with. “Laurence Beall” is an understated musing on where a long-lost friend might be and what he might be doing with his life, and “Local Yokels” has a wonderful touch of the sixties country crooner about it.
I love the restraint of this album, one that errs towards the folkier side of their signature folk-rock sound. I love the way vocals make way for guitars, beats are spacious and to the point, no one is getting in anyone else’s way, and there is an unadorned elegance to the songs…less, as they say, is more. And even when you come to songs like “Hard Times,” one of the more band sound-driven songs, there is an understanding of how you serve the song… no overplaying, no showboating, everyone with a job to do and doing it perfectly.
Fourteen great songs, fourteen slices of real life, recognisable scenarios and understandable sentiments. And if you wonder why people like Jim Patton and Sherry Brokus are still making music when they could be doing something much more relaxing with their time, listen to the album’s swansong, “One More Song.” It sums up the grassroots music scene perfectly!
