popwreckoning updates |  |
- Patrick Wolf – The Bachelor
- Download Land of Talk – “May You Never”
- The Hidden Cameras – Origin:Orphan
| Posted: 13 Sep 2009 11:11 AM PDT The Bandstocks.com-funded The Bachelor finds the lanky, elfish Patrick Wolf staking out even more ambitious territory than he did on The Magic Position, crafting sweeping pop songs with elements of European folk, classical and electro, and song names like "Damaris," "Kriespiel" and "Theseus." More so than any of his previous work, The Bachelor further defines Wolf’s orchestral/electronic sound with its extensive use of drum machines and elaborate string arrangements. While Wolf has no difficulty constructing a compelling album – he pretty much just has to appear on it – he still hasn't quite figured out how to make a consistent one. The Bachelor leads off with "Hard Times," easily the album's best song. Over driving percussion and a stinging orchestral melody straight out of Howard Shore's score for LOTR ("Two Towers" are referenced in the lyrics), Wolf sings, "In these hard times/I'll work harder/For Re-so-lu-tion/For Re-vo-lu-tion." The song builds up to a stunning climax with choir backup vocals and ringing electric guitar. The rest of The Bachelor never lives up to the heights set by "Hard Times" in much the same way that nothing on The Magic Position lives up to its title track. "Oblivion" is a dark, jerky track notable for featuring some Tilda Swinton voice-work, "Vulture" is a fuzzy bit of electro-dance, "Blackdown" is a sparse piano ballad in which Wolf thanks his father for having "given your whole life to your wife and my sister and me," and "Battle" is Wolf's ridiculous attempt at a "metal" song. The problem with The Bachelor is that too much of the album sounds like background music from Final Fantasy (the video game, not Owen Pallett). The title track lumbers along pointlessly with Wolf singing about what season he's going to marry in, "Damaris" fumbles under the weight of its own Braveheart-esque orchestral pretension, and "Count Of Casualty" is all "oooohs" and woodland violin-work and not enough, I don't know, hooks. And at points, Wolf's dramatic emo-tinged baritone becomes a bit annoying. But even with its flaws, The Bachelor is a success due to Wolf's captivating persona and his consistently interesting, if not consistently enjoyable, songwriting. Hopefully one day Wolf will write an album full of songs as good as "The Magic Position" and "Hard Times", but until then, he could do worse than The Bachelor. Fellow bloggers Twisted Ear say: “At still only 26 this month, the tightness of the arrangements and scope of ambition present within The Batchelor is both impressive and cement Patrick Wolf's reputation as a pop star to believe in.” Patrick Wolf’s The Bachelor is available now. Patrick Wolf: website | myspace | @ dot to dot 2009 |@ nylon summer tour Related Posts |
| Download Land of Talk – “May You Never” Posted: 13 Sep 2009 09:30 AM PDT Saddle Creek knows a powerful female voice when they hear one. They helped launch the career of Jenny Lewis, have been the home to the phenomenal ladies in Azure Ray and their sister label Team Love boasts the gang vocals of the tap-dancing gals in Tilly and the Wall. The latest female-fronted band to join the roster, Land of Talk, is no different. Singer Lizzie Powell lives up to the legacy of the Saddle Creek gals. If you missed out on the talk about Land of Talk, no worries. We’ve got you covered. You can download a new mp3 off the group’s forthcoming Fun and Laughter EP. The song is called “May You Never.” Just right click and save as to download or stream on our site. The Fun and Laughter EP includes four new songs and three videos. The hard copy comes with original art by the band. Track Listing: Tour Dates: Land of Talk: website | myspace Related PostsThis posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| The Hidden Cameras – Origin:Orphan Posted: 13 Sep 2009 07:00 AM PDT On September 22, Arts & Crafts brings us yet another original & charming record to caper and cavort to. Origin:Orphan is the fourth full-length treasure from Toronto's ever-burgeoning cache of sprightly minstrels, The Hidden Cameras. The album was recorded in Toronto, Ontario and Berlin, and feels as if it's a kind of rollicking audio passport, each song another fabled adventure and another stamp allowing access as they cross the border along their daring, arcane journey, that at times feels a bit stormy but is mostly inspired by mirth. The track layout has a linear, narrative quality that plays along as well. The opening track, "Ratify The New," builds slowly with anticipation, a humming preface to the story. The album's first single, "In The NA," is a jostling, synthy-sing-shout-along number that feverishly trumpets the story of this person/place/thing called "The NA" where people are held close, where demons and ghosts are battled, they spill their secrets, they marry, and where they ultimately triumph in under five minutes. "He Falls To Me" is set to a super-sized and spirited whistle with clever lyrics and a classic indie-rock, punch-in-the-gut chorus that rivals some of the best. "Colour of a Man" is an impossibly smart and warm soliloquy, draped with heavy, heaving strings and adorned with a velvety Medieval-meaning choir. "Walk On" blew my mind on first listen as it's one of the inkiest tracks that I've heard in awhile, a nod of approval that this self-proclaimed princess of darkness doesn't give easily. It's a heavy, heralding track with an uneasiness that evokes the devastating and disquieting side of Stevie Nicks when she sings "you will never get away from the sound of the woman who loves you…" in the spine-shivering chorus of her majesty's Silver Springs. I really can't give a band a better compliment than that if I tried. The band is said to translate the innate theatricality and avant-garde nature of their sound to the stage by performing with up to forty-piece dance troupes and in alternative spaces such as churches and soccer fields, an experience that I'm definitely looking forward to when I check them out this fall in New York. I'll let you know if the wizardry and wonder of the Cameras makes sense in the flesh. Tracklisting: The Hidden Cameras: website | myspace Related Posts |
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