Commoneer Reflects on Adult Relationships and Conformity on New EP Saintly Patients

4.6 out of 5 stars

The new EP from Commoneer called Saintly Patients is a musical journey that you definitely want to take a walk with.

Okay, maybe I am biased as Commoneer is the one-man musical project of a lifelong dear friend of mine, Mitch Purvis, but the dude has some serious chops and I can rock out to his music for days.

The only thing I think that would make this better is probably having a full band to be able to make some touring possible and to give the album that fuller real instrument sound.

This is the second EP Commoneer has released, and both are incredibly good pieces of work for an independent musician that also happens to be a father of three and records and creates music in his “spare” time (whatever that is for a parent).

Let’s dig into this album a bit more though.

It starts out with the melodic rock anthem “Untimed Fortunes” which is just a testament to how controlled chaos can sound incredibly satisfying. The bass line in this song is a nice additional touch that brings everything together for my ears. Also, the ripping progression at about 3:20 into the song really rocks the shit out.

Up next on the album is a longer, slower song in “Matters Revisited” that is one of the more incredible songs on the album as there is a guitar solo at about 2:15 into the song that is absolutely insane. The whole song has a lot of mid-90’s alternative rock sound to it which is to say that it will sound very familiar but with a modern touch and indie-rock feel that makes it completely unique. I feel like David Gilmour himself would approve of this song for its guitar work.

“West to Desert” the third track on the album is a little reminiscent of classic Tool songs in that it builds into the song at the start and has a bit of an offbeat drum pattern that gives a very interesting sound. You will definitely have a lot of fun exploring this sonic giant for four and a half minutes.

The fourth track “Travesting” is an instrumental that definitely has a lot of influence from guitarists like John Frusciante (of Red Hot Chili Peppers fame). The surprise of this song however is the bass work that keeps the background sound flowing seamlessly through the whole song and gives you something else to pay attention to throughout the composition.

“Grey Water” might be my favorite track on the album as it is probably the loudest and most sonically rocking. The chorus gets me pumped up every time I hear too. The ripping guitar riffs and the walking bass lines are extraordinary in this song. Another shredding solo appears in this song at around 4:30, but it is a bit thrown in the back as the vocals are still taking center stage during this part of the song. So, put this on through headphones so you can catch everything that is happening and really experience the depth of all the sounds.

The final song on the album is “Iron & Fire” and has a really cool bouncing rhythm to it that is created by the drum beat and bass that makes a groove that is soothing yet makes you want to bob your head around. This song is a very melodic song as well, and that is a huge part of the Commoneer sound. It seems that the song and instruments have some deeper rooting of melody matching that you just don’t get from radio rock where it is more just note matching or chord matching. The song also ends with a cool guitar solo as well.

I would say that the overall feeling you will get from the music is a subdued melancholy touched with a bit of angst but brought through the lens of an actual adult looking at life with its challenges and relationships.

The first lines of the album on “Untimed Fortunes” really set the scene pretty well, I think:

My favorite line of the whole album comes from “Matters Revisited” though:

Married life and fitting into a society that wants to keep you in place is an underlying subject matter of many of the songs, and if you have ever looked at your life and wondered how it became the life it is, then you will highly relate to this album, I believe.

Make sure to head to the music and give it a listen. It won’t disappoint.