Patrick McKeown hails from Belfast, and his music ranges from acoustic rock to pop, with a bit of folk in there, too.

It is difficult to give a full assessment based on the limited exposure of his new three-track CD, Passing By. Of necessity, it was probably produced on a budget, but he uses personal creativity to overcome any cash limitations. The appearance is simple but well executed and the stark black-and-white -- or should one say white-on-black -- illustration and title are well done. The three tracks on offer are very good but might benefit from a little bit of editing.

Patrick opens with the interestingly titled "Scene in the Park." His voice has a feeling of coming from the heart and the lyrics are well constructed in the main. My favourite track of the three is "Scathing Song." The fact that this is the shorter of the three and the one with the quieter delivery may say more for my age than the song.

This debut album, however short, would make any listener interested in hearing more from Patrick, and I am sure that we will. I would urge him to try to include the lyrics on future releases and perhaps refrain from giving the track lengths as "really long" or "not so long."

- Rambles
written by Nicky Rossiter
published 19 February 2005

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