Riser House Records

Release Date: January 20th / March 10th 2023

Reviewed by: Joshua Andre

Meghan Patrick– She’s No Good For Me / Ours (Single) (Amazon mp3/iTunes) (Amazon mp3/iTunes)

Track Listing:

1. She’s No Good For Me
2. Ours

There is a time in your life when you discover an artist for the first time. That, in my opinion, is a very special time. You’ve been sleeping on ‘so and so’ for whoever knows how long, and for one reason to another you’ve decided to take a chance on the artist because of one song you heard on the radio that resonated with you the other day. It’s a song that gets you going, gets you motivated and inspired, and all pumped up to conquer anything. And so, you smile, and dive deep into the discography of this ‘newish’ artist (or many ‘newish’ artists!) only to discover that some have more albums released than you realise. At some point you think ‘it might’ve been better if I listened to this artist at the time of them releasing their albums, than all at once right now, because I feel slightly overwhelmed!’… but let me tell you this- I reckon a lot of fans of any artist would want to be in your position- to re-listen to hits and classics of this artist, for the first time. Listening to anything for the first time is special- but even more so when you know that the artist has a bright future ahead of them; or has had an illustrious and respected career. And this leads me into semi-established Canadian country artist Meghan Patrick. She released her third full length album Heart On My Glass in 2021, which I thoroughly enjoyed, and am appreciative that right now I am listening to her for the virtually first time.

A Canadian snowboarder turned country music singer; Meghan Patrick is well known in Canada. However, she is less well known in the U.S., and as is the case with any musician wanting to conquer the U.S.; Meghan had to start from ground zero. Yet from her already released music and lyrics, let’s just say that Meghan has a head start- she already has had plenty of heart-warming, and musically and lyrically impressive songs released to the public, and if she stays true and authentic to her previous style… it’s almost guaranteed that U.S. listeners will love her. As for me in Australia, I first was introduced to Meghan through a country Spotify playlist from Jon that I was listening to in early 2021. Songs were on shuffle and a number of them were from Meghan… and the rest is history as I dived into a discography of one of the most vulnerable, emotional, and honest artists in country music. We reviewed Heart On My Glass and we loved it very much… and so, here we are now in 2023. In 2022, Meghan released her wedding single “My Left Hand”, and now that 2023 has rolled around, there are two new tracks, presumably from a new, unnamed album yet to be released. “She’s No Good For Me” and “Ours” are here for us to listen to, and if these songs are anything to go by, then Meghan’s upcoming album is set to be incredibly vulnerable and honest.

The process of writing ‘She’s No Good For Me’ was extremely cathartic and empowering. When you’ve reached a point of recognizing your own BS, but you’ve also gotten to a place where you can give yourself a little grace for who you were when you were going through a hard time… that’s when you start healing, and growing. It’s also recognizing that healing is not always linear, that old version of you may still show up every once in a while, but knowing you need to leave that version of yourself behind is half the battle. Listening to the song while I drove just felt so empowering and like I was really living the song in the moment, which I think makes for a very authentic performance. The horses coming in at the end [of the music video] was not planned but it was an incredible moment. Running through that field with them was so exhilarating and beautiful and it felt like a sign that I was finally free to be completely myself and go into this new era unbridled.

‘Ours’ is about what it feels like when an ex-lover hits ‘copy and paste’ with the new girl or guy. They take them to the same bar, do all the same things they did with you, and to top it all off, they have the audacity to dance with them to the song that used to be yours.

With “She’s No Good For Me” being an empowering, freeing and explosive anthem about saying goodbye to our old self and stepping into the new (kind of similar in theme to “Welcome To The New” by MercyMe, and a melody that inspires us to keep growing and keep on learning something new about ourselves); “Ours” is a song about how the person you think you love actually treats their current lover the same way they treated you. It’s a track similar in lyrical content and theme to “Next Girl” by Carly Pearce, and with these two songs being quite different in theme yet still equally powerful and poignant, Meghan’s versatility is evident, as well as her burgeoning and rising popularity in country music.

Meghan Patrick isn’t a household name, but Heart On My Glass as well as these two singles, is sure to get her noticed by listeners and critics alike. Though I didn’t resonate with “Ours”, “She’s No Good For Me” will resonate with any who have that flaky friend- and then realise that we can sometimes be that flaky friend. And the fact still remains that she’s a force to be reckoned with vocally in the country industry; and she can provide healing and comfort to many people. These two songs are pretty encouraging and inspiring, and Meghan is only getting started. And so even if you don’t resonate with much of these songs, I’d say still listen. Listen to this song and tell me you feel pride and happiness and you don’t have a smile on your face! Meghan is taking the world by storm- so jump on the bandwagon pronto!

Score: 4.5/5

RIYL: Carrie Underwood, Lady A, Maren Morris, Tenille Arts, Tenille Townes, Jennifer Nettles, Jimmie Allen, Keith Urban, Kylie Morgan