Floridian singer-songwriter Patrick Sylvester has a new single on the horizon, “On The Earth.” If you’re a fan of his, be prepared for something totally different. Don’t worry, this is different in an exciting and refreshing way.
To say this song is otherworldly is not only appropriate but an understatement. The melody drifts like an astronaut lost in space. The vocals maintain a continuous train of the thought while the lead guitar plays call and response alongside. The rhythm is minimalist. The kick drum sounds like a heartbeat, fitting with the recurring theme of uncertainty. A tambourine lends a familiar sound that like the kick drum, brings consistency to the song.
I can’t recall the last time I heard a song with an opening that got under my skin quite like this. The guitar is so rough, I questioned if my speakers were blown. I absolutely love it. It fits perfectly with the extraordinary themes of the song, the curiousness of cosmic exploration. The break in the middle of the song completely drifts off before it is brought back for another verse.
Considering how in-your-face the opening is, the song never surpasses it in terms of intensity. “On The Earth” never really hits a bombastic peak, it stays calm and collected all the way through. This not only breaks from Sylvester’s norms but those of typical songwriting as well.
There is an unlikely but clever dichotomy at play here. The vocals are soft and whispery and contradict the raw instrumentation. I would not have expected this to work but in practice it does. The acoustic guitar is introduced after the first chorus, it makes the song feel more grounded. How fitting it is met with the lyric “she always knows the right words to say to keep my feet planted on the earth.”
Sylvester’s older singles, which were imbued with tones of country-western and folk, seem pastiche compared to “On The Earth.” The preceding single “Tommy & Frances” was a ballad that sounded like an acoustic Paul Simon tune. “On The Earth” is electric to its core and unforgivingly so.
Those willing to accept change will appreciate this new direction, as it is not too much of a leap from his deep cuts. Sylvester has made more experimental songs in the past but most of them were album tracks. “With” off the 2019 album Fortunate Son, seems to be the predecessor to “On The Earth.” Such a stylistic leap for an artist can either be brilliant or disastrous, but this is the former. Like Bob Dylan at the ’65 Newport Folk Festival, Sylvester is definitely going to surprise his loyal followers.
For someone like me who is not a devout follower but is an appreciator, “On The Earth” was a nice break from what I am used to hearing. A new but earned change for Patrick Sylvester that has ignited my interest in his career as a musician. I hope his future work reaches the same heights and better yet soars beyond them.
