Singles: A Beacon School – Potion & Jon & Dot

“A Beacon School is the dream pop project of New York-based songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Patrick J. Smith.“

“Potion” was written in one sitting back in 2019 and has been a live staple since then. It’s about feeling a burst of excitement about something new but also the fear that accompanies it.

On the other end of the spectrum, “Jon” is a song that took on many forms before its final iteration. Originally a straightforward guitar song, it ended up in its current state of electronic drone after years of tinkering with it. Although there aren’t any lyrics, to me the song has always evoked New York at night and that’s what we tried to convey with the accompanying visualizer.”

Three singles from the upcoming album are out on Grind Select, the full album should be out in October. To be honest I never understood the long pre-order times until I was releasing vinyl myself. The three singles are already promising an album full of different genres creating a nice dreamy collage. I am enjoying the notion of bands giving space on album tracks that are less coherent and exploring various soundscapes. When you listen to the three songs above you could easily tell that they are from 3 different artists, but I am enjoying that variety as it creates a nice music collage. Also, I enjoyed the reference to New York at night. Not everything has to sound the same. Patrick is making really masterpieces of craft and I am looking forward to hearing the full album once it is out.

You can pre-order the album on vinyl or CD via Grind Select, a Philly-based record label.