Shoos Off - Issues

Favorite Songs: Jeopardy, Anywhere, A place to Live, On Sunny Days

Beginning with the album art itself, this unique collection of songs screams youth. It’s a walk in the park, a middle school gymnasium, a heat-induced daydream, or most notably – spilled ice cream on the pavement. Rather than dissect this album on a song-by-song basis, I’d prefer to zoom in on at the artist.

Patrick Killeen started playing music when he was 19 having joined an up-and-coming band, Yogurt Brown. At the time, he mostly offered backup rhythm/melody. That same year, as the band was picking up steam, Killeen’s father tragically passed away. Dealing with the grief of the situation, he left the band. He sidelined his musical career to focus instead on comedy – a helpful emotional outlet. In 2013, Killeen made a return to music, this time working on his solo project, Issues. Beginning with the very first song, Jeopardy, you can hear the nostalgia that Killeen masterfully injects into each song. The feel and overall direction of the album is nothing short of intentional. Each song is reflective and introspective, and shrouded in a youthful naïveté. You can hear this in the song, A place to Live, – which seems to deal with Killeen’s search for a place in the world as he reminds himself “You're fine though you're scared. You're fine”. Musically, the album has a blatantly optimistic tone, however, what’s less apparent is Killeen’s deeply personal and reflective lyrics.

I think Issues is a massively impressive album. Killeen imbues each song with a unique lightheartedness – even when reminiscing on a past full of heartbreak and confusion. In the same way that Killeen found comedy revitalizing, Shoos off, represents one’s ability to find beauty and identity in times of extreme difficulty.