“Until It Isn’t” is a beautiful smooth old country road song. This song tells a story, takes you on a journey, sells you some baked goods and shakes your hand at the end. This song feels comfortable and is filled with that storyteller vibe. “Until It Isn’t” is the latest release from the Irish songwriter Pat Byrne.
The song starts out with a slow strumming acoustic guitar. You can hear the pick on the strings as the strumming instantly takes you to a countryside. Then Pat’s smooth Americana voice comes in with that painful line “You said I should have tried harder”. I’m going to pause right there. That first line really grasps the song. It identifies where the pain that you feel for the next 3 minutes could have been coming from. I, of course, don’t know the backstory of the song, but this is the bullet that hit me. As the chorus comes in, you can hear the backing vocals of a woman comp the words “It is what it is, until it isn’t” along with an airy electric guitar. The drums bring in a nice slow groove with a faint sound of an upright piano in the background.
The story moves on as he talks about “This beautiful mistake” and of course…”It is what it is, until it isn’t”.
I love the story telling and the feeling of this song. I was excited to see this new release from Pat Byrne as I’ve been following him since his last album. Pat also has an upcoming release, “Feels Like Living” coming out soon.
About the Artist
An Irish singer-songwriter, Pat Byrne has come a long way since his first deal with Universal. In 2017, Byrne migrated to Austin, Texas. Immersed in the Texas music scene, Pat penned several new songs and released the “Rituals” LP in October 2018. In 2019, Pat took the U.S. by storm, with breakout performances at the 30A Festival, SWSX, Kerrville Folk Festival, and the Americana Festival. Along comes 2020 and live performance all but disappeared. Pat took full advantage and began work on his upcoming LP and launched his Wednesday livestream, now a residency at McGonigel’s Mucky Duck’s Live from Norfolk Street.
Pat recorded “Into the Light” at the Sound Emporium studio in Nashville in late 2020, set for release and tour in summer 2021—Covid-19 permitting.
“When you combine the transcendent poetry of Bob Dylan with the gritty, real-world rock-n-roll storytelling that Bruce Springsteen made so famous, and then add a dash of the political activism embodied by Woody Guthrie and Pete Seger, you’ll have Irish singer-songwriter Pat Byrne”—Folk Alley at 30a Songwriters festival
“The raspy melodic soul of Byrne’s voice recalls the emotional spells the late Austin troubadour Jimmy LaFave used to cast, though Byrne’s songwriting bears a distinctive Irish stamp. He’s more contemporary than strict traditionalists, putting him more in the league of Glen Hansard or Luka Bloom; yet at times he conjures a deeply old-school feel.”—Peter Blackstock, The Austin American Statesman
