With his debut album, ‘True Story,’ Patrick Craig showcases an honest and heartfelt range of stripped back songs encompassing themes such as a growing up, anxiety and dealing with change.
Having grown up on a musical diet of Irish folk music, Green Day and Oasis, the singer-songwriter has a diverse range of influences. We asked Patrick to tell us about five albums that has shaped his music and influenced ‘True Story’.
Green Day – American Idiot
This album was my first independent venture into music. In that my sister was given a bunch of CDs from a friend, she listened to this one but didn’t like it. She handed it to me to listen to, and I’d say it did change my life. It was the first album that I liked that no one had told me to like (someone handing it to me saying “you’ll love this") and it wasn’t (at first) something that I had heard from Top of the Pops. This album was also the first step in a chain of events that led me to discovering The Sex Pistols, The Clash, Nirvana, AC/DC, Guns N Roses and many more. So I’d say that this album definitely influenced my musical tastes.
Various Artists – Shrek: Motion Picture Soundtrack
It seems a little weak to pick a compilation album for this list, but I watched Shrek recently and realised how many amazing songs were on the soundtrack. I remember when I first saw it, I couldn’t stop singing ‘I’m a Believer’. I also remember a little time after, before I realised that you could go on the internet and look up song lyrics, watching the DVD with subtitles on and pausing so I could write down the words to Rufus Wainwrights’ version of ‘Hallelujah’. ‘Shrek 2’ also has ‘Accidentally in Love’ by Counting Crows on it, and I’m pretty sure that it’s a perfect song.
The Who – Who’s Next
My mum was a huge fan of The Who. I think hearing ‘Pinball Wizard,’ the frantic acoustic almost flamenco guitar turning into huge wide power chords just resonated with me. I remember telling my guitar teacher I wanted to learn it, and his eyes just widen slightly. So that week we started bar chords……
Frank Turner – Sleep is for the Week
It’s hard to write a list like this for me without mentioning Frank Turner. When I first heard him. my musical world literally turned upside down. Suddenly music wasn’t made by far away people on magical expensive instruments, a story was being told to simple music playing on whatever instrument was at hand. Hearing this record and watching live footage of Frank around this time definitely had an effect on what I wanted to do in terms of DIY ethic and mentality.
The Mountain Goats – Sunset Tree
This is an album I got into relatively recently compared to the others. I absolutely fell in love with John Darnielle’s songwriting, and on this album especially. To approach what is a very heavy subject (the album is about his negative relationship with his step-father and his life surrounding that) but to make some of the most beautiful moments of art with it, is absolutely awe-inspiring. I saw The Mountain Goats about 6 months ago, and I will happily tell you how much I cried during ‘This Year’ (it was a lot by the way). Now go listen to that song, and then that record, and realise that whenever all hope looks to be gone, there is a voice that is in head, you just have to hear it, as it tells you that you are strong, and you will survive.
‘True Story’ by Patrick Craig is out now on Under The Bridge Records.
Patrick Craig links: Website|Facebook|Twitter|Instagram|Bandcamp|Soundcloud
