A Beacon School is the first solo effort from Brooklyn-based Patrick J. Smith, a composer who's played in Perfect Strangers, BLUFFING, and Fiasco. His debut LP Cola is out March 23 on Grind Select. On "Algernon," premiering on The FADER today, Smith adds layers of soothing guitars and vocals with ease, reaching a build-up that feels natural, without ever fully peaking. Over email, he explained that the song was the result of letting go.
“Everything I was making around this time [for A Beacon School] was written for a 4-piece band," he said. "I’d add all these layers and then end up stripping a bunch out so that we could do it live with only two guitarists. At the same time, I was scrapping entire songs if I thought they didn’t line up stylistically with what the band was “supposed to be”. “Algernon” marked the first time I stopped worrying about all that stuff and just got out of my own way. I started doubling guitar parts, layering in new ones, and chopping up stuff I had already recorded. My approach to writing became to think less about how everything fit together, and instead just indulge my musical impulses and hope it amounted to a cohesive record.”
Listen to "Algernon" above.