Artist: Owen Pallett
Title: Heartland
Label: Domino
Genre: Indie
Bitrate: 185kbit av.
Time: 00:46:27
Size: 65.16 mb
Rip Date: 2010-01-09
Str Date: 2010-01-11
01. Midnight Directives 3:35
02. Keep The Dog Quiet 3:10
03. Mount Alpentine 0:49
04. Red Sun No. 5 3:40
05. Lewis Takes Action 2:54
06. The Great Elsewhere 5:49
07. Oh Heartland, Up Yours! 4:07
08. Lewis Takes Off His Shirt 5:08
09. Flare Gun 2:20
10. E For Estranged 5:25
11. Tryst With Mephistopheles 6:53
12. What Do You Think Will Happen Now? 2:37
Release Notes:
There are a number of facts about the Toronto-based songwriter and
composer Owen Pallett that seem relevant but that nonetheless are not,
at least not where Heartland is concerned. For example, thereÆs the
fact that he helps make string arrangements for the Arcade
FireùHeartland is all cool detachment, far from the Arcade FireÆs
heated emotion. ThereÆs also the fact that until he changed it a few
days ago to avoid a lawsuit from a certain video game franchise,
Heartland was to be released under the name Final Fantasy, which might
make you think youÆre beginning some escapist jaunt into a land of
elves and dragons. And finally, thereÆs the fact that Heartland is an
ambitious orch-pop record that never met a percussion flourish or
violin tremolo it didnÆt like. Well, actually, that last one is
relevant, but maybe not in the way youÆd think.
Explaining what Heartland actually is is more difficult. Scott WalkerÆs
The Drift is close, in that both albums have an air of mystery (the
listener gets the sense that something very important is going on, but
itÆs hard to tell exactly what it is). But Heartland isnÆt nearly as
dark or forbidding, and there are occasional
Leonard-Bernstein-on-Broadway rhythms that wouldnÆt make sense in
WalkerÆs music.
The comparison is still tempting, though, in part because of
HeartlandÆs arrangements. The key players are Pallett (who sings and
plays various string and keyboard instruments) along with
percussionists Jeremy Gara (of the Arcade Fire) and Ed Reifel, but the
St. Kitts Winds and the Czech Symphony Strings also figure very
prominently. The multi-continent recording process (the album was made
in Iceland, the Czech Republic, Canada and the U.S.) was well worth the
trouble, because Heartland is that rare art-pop record where the
zillions of instruments all seem to have good reasons for being there.
In 2007, Bright Eyes performed with members of the Los Angeles
Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl. (My girlfriend liked the opening
band, and the packed-in parking scheme kept us from leaving until after
the concert had ended. ThatÆs my excuse.) The addition of orchestral
instruments was bizarre, even for a band as cluelessly narcissistic as
Bright Eyesù-having some of the worldÆs best classical musicians play
the simple, silly lines that were written for them was like hunting
squirrel with a howitzer. One of the stranger subplots in the last 10
years of indie rock has been the addition of classical instrumentsù-the
percentage of artists who both gain something from them and know how to
use them is relatively small, and yet an enormous number of artists do
use them, and critics are usually convinced by them when they do.
Heartland gets its classical instruments right. It helps that they
arenÆt mere accoutrementsù-itÆs hard to imagine what most of the songs
would sound like without them. Pallett (who also composes classical
music) writes for strings and winds with boldness and creativity that
are rare in pop music, and the ôclassicalö instruments have obviously
received plenty of attention in the recording process as well.
These may seem like prosaic things to focus on, but theyÆre important
for two reasons. First, for what seems like enormous number of indie
rock bands interested in dressing their music up with every imaginable
marker of sophistication and ambition, Heartland is a pretty serious
kick in the pants.
Second, and more importantly, the balance between HeartlandÆs
arrangements and PallettÆs voice is a major reason it captures the
listenerÆs imagination so thoroughly. ItÆs unusual to hear arrangements
this rich with a voice as understated as PallettÆs. Most contemporary
classical music still bizarrely adheres to an antiquated, operatic
style of singing that developed before the microphone was created.
Since classical music still hasnÆt figured out that the microphone
makes it possible for singers to sound like human beings and not like
shrieking vultures or gargling elephants, itÆs welcome to hear a record
that features very colorful arrangements and a voice that actually
sounds good.
PallettÆs voice is a bit like that of Belle and SebastianÆs Stuart
Murdoch-ùquiet, small, fitting easily into the swirl of instrumental
texture that surrounds him. For that reason, yet another fact about
Heartland that isnÆt as germane as it initially appears is that itÆs a
sci-fi concept album about a farmer. The lyrics mostly go by
undetected, and individual lines (which are often surprisingly defiant)
go unnoticed for the first several listens, as the melodies (which are
deft and often very beautiful) and the arrangements attract most of the
listenerÆs attention.
Another way of putting it, though, is that the lyrics take time to
reveal themselves, and thatÆs a very good thing, because the music
welcomes the sort of close listening required to get much out of the
lyrics anyway. This is a great album, and youÆre probably going to want
to hear it again and again.
sire@hush.ai