Album Review: Patrick James - Outlier

Just because it's been done before doesn't mean it's no good. That's the overall feeling one gets after listening to Outlier, Patrick James' debut record.

With an acoustic guitar in one hand and a piano under the other, the Port Macquarie-via-Sydney songwriter's soulful voice resides over a collection of tunes that wouldn't feel out of place on a beachside Corona commercial (California Song) or as the soundtrack to that TV drama where one of your favourite characters dies and everybody's crying (Bugs). Outlier is an emotional journey, similar to David Gray's White Ladder but (thankfully) without the over-the-top production values.