Tobacco Pat – American Mind
Tobacco Pat – The Doctor
In the crowded and diverse world of indie folk what really makes artists stand out to me is idiosyncracies and superb melodies. Tobacco Pat brings both of these in spades on his new, self-released album Vimanas.
Jacksonville, FL based singer-songwriter Logan Farmer has released several albums under the moniker Tobacco Pat. His latest, Vimanas, is a beautiful collection of endearing and sparse folk songs. I'm hesitant to just simply call this a folk album. There's some really interesting stuff going on here under the surface – quirks and creative flourishes that most folk artists are too scared to mess with. It's the kind of album that gave me one of those "well, this is pretty damn awesome" revelations during first listen.
Listen to "American Mind" a few times closely for a perfect example. The song starts simply enough with Pat's voice dripping with emotion over percussive chord changes. There's a constant subtle tempo build that you start to catch on to just as a few claps suddenly burst into the song and suddenly disappear. The song continues to build and evolve, creating a palpable tension that bursts in a jumble of speed and sound by the end. It's a beautiful thing.
Add in a gorgeous duet, a good ol' fashioned protest song, and a haunting take on a classic American folk song and you have an album definitely worth your time.
Vimanas is available on Tobacco Pat's website for name-your-own-price and half of proceeds go to the Enough Project, which is awesome. So don't be heartless. Support a great artist and a great cause at the same time.