The Pretendo Box - Who I Am, Who You Know

Hear The Track Here

Why are you all sliding away from here, stop being silly buggers and stand still will you? I know what's bothering you, so lets get that out of the way first and foremost. The Pretendo Box is the latest incarnation of many a Soundclick's Critics Corner reviewers bete noire - the musician known as Patrick Lew. In my time I have dished the dirt a good few times, although I will say in my own defence is that I never trash unless seriously driven to it. Patrick, during the time I have known him, not only drove me - and many other reviewers - that far but went further until we all gaped into the pit of madness itself. Could this be?, we asked ourselves, is it true that maybe Patrick is right and almost everyone else is wrong?

Well, I guess that would depend on your point of view.

Patrick does not, IM(very humble)O, make what the rest of the world would call music but you know what? It doesn't matter. I have been through this experience many times, the last time with a musician called Station For Imitation who I ragged on for years and years with much the same effect. He ignored every brickbat that was thrown his way and continued doing exactly what HE wanted and the rest of us could go to a very hot place. That musician changed his name and you might know him better as Thomas J Marchant, IMHO one of Soundclick's major talents and an unique stylist. I'm not saying that Patrick is going to turn up as Thomas any time soon, what I am saying is that here is a musician searching for an identity, and that can only be a good thing.

Mind you, you will definitely not be using those words to describe Who I Am, Who You Know which, to my ears anyway, is pure Patrick Lew in full spate as only he can render it. At least he can take some satisfaction from the fact that absolutely no-one sounds like this, which I guess may count as a bit of a bonus. The track is billed as Alternative Pop Punk but I can't hear any of those things in it, except maybe the sloppiness and couldn't-give-a-toss attitude of punk. The funny thing is that Patrick does KNOW how to play the guitar, although the singing is highly debatable. Moreover he has been playing for at least TEN years but you wouldn't know it from this so what exactly is his story? I can only surmise that he actually wants to sound this disorganised, this sloppy and yes, this bad. I can only shrug my shoulders and move along there, nothing to see....