One thing that many bands and artists seem to get a bit wrong is the relationship between the vocals and the instrumentation. In the studio they are happy to pour over the layers and textures that make up their song adding one sound after another, banking up instruments, double tracking, panning and generally making the song sound as big as possible. And then right at the end they will sit a single vocal line on the top. They seem to be missing a trick.
Thankfully Patrick Ames is smarter than most, he realises that the vocals are just as versatile an instrument as any other and Oh Penelope proves this beyond doubt. Over plaintive piano lines and a wonderfully spacious ballad structure he weaves a glorious web of vocals, twin leads, sumptuous harmonies, complementary and contrasting ranges and ethereal washes. The result is nothing short of a workshop on just how much you can do with the voice, something other artists would do well to take note of.
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