Owen Pallett - Heartland

for some reason listening to this makes me want to read dave sedaris. an odd sensation i know.

Pooland

he poos hearts?

no, wait. he hearts poos.

I think he means the set of aesthetic priorities that electronic composers might be said to have - what exactly these are isn't something I'd be in a position to state, but it does seem that composition, for electronic composers, is a different activity from composing on standard instruments of the symphony in some ways, right? or maybe not, just thinkin'

― Lee Dorrian Gray (J0hn D.), Thursday, February 4, 2010 2:40 PM (2 weeks ago)

been ruminating on this idea as i'm listening to this album repeatedly the last couple of weeks. it hit me watching a live clip from ifc. it's the looping, i think, the way he (and other electronic composers) records a phrase to have the exact same thing loop over. the sensibility is the same if you are recording that loop live or copy/pasting midi notes or letting a drum machine run over the same beat etc etc. this isn;t to say that acoustic instrumentalists don't use or even rely on repetitive phrases, but save for the most precise players there's going to be some variation in timbre or micro-imprecisions in rhythm. the loop otoh is always "exactly" the same.

there's a lot of variation in chord structures, but as a point of reference, "e is for estranged" is essentially the same chord structure throughout but it took me a long time to figure it out. the addition and removal of layers is much more akin to electronically produced (at least 4 me at any rate). it's to his great credit that he doesn't allow this repeating structure get stale and has enough going on that the song moves.

i want to say something clever like this is technical wizardry disguised as a beautiful chamber pop album or vice versa, but i don't think either facet is hidden at all. it's like "i'm fucking talented, let's waltz :D"

man, I know I can be accused of bias here, but this is the BEST. FUCKING. ALBUM. Like, every song makes me go "fuck yeah dude this is the best song on the record" only then the next one comes up. And it's the same thing again. BEST. FUCKING. ALBUM.

Yeah, this is going to be hard to beat for my favorite of the year.

loooool i've been listening to this tonight!

Owen's vocal melodies are INSANELY great on this. Seriously. The vocal melodies. A++

"I took a No-Face by his beeaaaak, and broke his jaw, he'll never speak again (ahhhhhhhh)"

Cannot overstate the greatness of the vocal melody on this line.

"about face, about face"

I've really tried to like this, guys ("Lewis Takes Off His Shirt" is still in my iPod), but this still sounds malnourished.

dogg what u mean, this album is walking around town all bloated and blowin out inappropriate farts from eatin so good

m bison I wish to subscribe to your newsletter

Finally gave this a full listen last night -- very lovely on first blush. Owen's voice is the standout for me here because it reminded me of nobody so much as Joe Cassidy from Butterfly Child, one of my all time favorite and far too obscure bands. Something about the combination of ease, vulnerability and evident skill.

i can't listen to this one enough! when have i last been so obsessed with a recent album? stunning music.

i think i'm looking forward to seeing owen this may more than just about any show i've ever anticipated

this album is incredible btw

I love this.

What do people think of Dan Deacon's remix of Lewis Takes His Shirt Off?

I'm guessing this is a bit of a grower, eh?

It sounds interesting at first listen - not sure if I'm "blown away", as most people here are, though.

it will haunt u in yr dreamz

Owen's record is great

this album is so fantastic - my favourite for the year so far definitely.

It's one of those that's pretty easy to walk away from during/after first listen and then 100times easier to walk back to time and time again. It reminds me of Scott Walker or Coil in the way that the arrangements completely immerse you into the music. Still haven't listened to it on headphones but very much looking forward to the experience.

What do people think of Dan Deacon's remix of Lewis Takes His Shirt Off?

not feeling it as much as i'd like to /:

otoh this still sounds worth investigating:

Lewis Takes Off Shirt 12″ Track List:

A

1: Lewis Takes Off His Shirt (Album version)

2. Lewis Takes Off His Shirt (Dan Deacon Remix)

3. Lewis Takes Off His Shirt (Benoit Pioulard Remix)

B

1. Lewis Takes Off His Shirt (CFCF Remix)

2. Keep The Dog Quiet (Simon Bookish Remix)

3. Midnight Directives (Max Tundra Remix)

owen, why do you hate providence

04-08 Toronto, Ontario - Queen Elizabeth Theatre
04-10 Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall
04-11 Minneapolis, MN - Varsity Theater
04-12 Milwaukee, WI - Turner Hall
04-13 Columbus, OH - Wexner Center
04-14 Pittsburgh, PA - Andy Warhol Museum
04-15 Washington, DC - Black Cat
04-18 Indio, CA - Coachella Festival
04-20 Boston, MA - Institute of Contemporary Art
04-22 New York, NY - Webster Hall
04-24 Baltimore, MD - Metro Gallery
04-25 Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church
04-27 Atlanta, GA - The Earl
04-29 Dallas, TX - Granada Theater
04-30 Austin, TX - The Mohawk
05-05 San Francisco, CA - The Independent
05-08 Seattle, WA - The Crocodile
05-09 Vancouver, British Columbia - The Vogue Theatre
05-10 Victoria, British Columbia - Alix Goolden Hall
05-11 Portland, OR - Aladdin Theater
05-13 Salt Lake City, UT - Kilby Court
05-14 Denver, CO - Larimer Lounge
05-28 Barcelona, Spain - Primavera Sound Festival
06-01 Paris, France - Villette Sonique Festival
06-02 Helsinki, Finland - Tavastia

05-14 Denver, CO - Larimer Lounge

o my calendar has been marked~!

tempted to drive up to austin 4 that show

I'll be at the Denver show.

no britisher show? :(

Just finished our EU tour, we did London, Manchester, Birmingham and Cardiff two weeks ago. Sad we missed you. It was a good tour, we played a fun set at Inferno Festival in Oslo, between Atilla Csihar and Jarboe. (My booking agent likes to pretend we're a metal band and we like going along with it.)

BTW if there are any people from Milwaukee up in this bitch, come down to Turner Hall tonight, we are hilariously undersold.

oh man i never knew/had any money. anyway, cracking album dude.

my gf and i went in london! you were dope as usual

what're you doing for the summer owen? you in america? available to play?

Owen, great show in Chicago the other night! Loved the "Fantasy" cover.

04-20 Boston, MA - Institute of Contemporary Art

O_O

saw Deerhunter at this venue in 2007. amazing show. venue is right on the water. i should go to this.

boo, I'm supposed to be at a completely different event that night

owen why do you hate providence

wait Fantasy as in Mariah's Fantasy?

Yeah, he did that one in London too. At least at the (excellent) Koko show, don't know about the Union Chapel one which I sadly missed.

That sounds like something I need to hear. Is it on the internet or will it be a future bside?

Ha, I don't really know "Fantasy" at all and so I was like "All right, Tom Tom Club cover!" and then "oh, he wrote his own lyrics...?" and then "oh, I think someone in the '90s sampled Tom Tom Club! Could this be ... Mariah??"

btw owen i think you have 'made it'

http://i39.tinypic.com/2ptpdtl.jpg

lolz at drowny firefox skin

owen was an answer in this week's av club crossword, that's fucking making it.

Ha, who was the constructor?

francis heaney, but i wouldn't be surprised if tausig slipped that one in

owen what do you think of active child?

Time to stuff the ballot box (that is how it works, right?):

The Short List of 10 Canadian albums selected as nominees for the fifth annual Polaris Music Prize were announced today. The 10 records will vie for the annual $20,000 award, presented by Sirius Satellite Radio.

In alphabetical order, they are:

The Besnard Lakes – The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night
(Montréal, QC)

Broken Social Scene - Forgiveness Rock Record
(Toronto, ON)

Caribou – Swim
(Dundas, ON)

Karkwa - Les Chemins De Verre
(Montréal, QC)

Dan Mangan – Nice, Nice, Very Nice
(Vancouver, BC)

Owen Pallett – Heartland
(Toronto, ON)

Radio Radio – Belmundo Regal
(Grosse Coque, NS, Moncton, NB, Pointe-à-l'église, NS)

The Sadies – Darker Circles
(Toronto, ON)

Shad – TSOL
(London, ON)

Tegan And Sara – Sainthood
(Vancouver, BC & Montréal, QC)

Owen and Dan Snaith need to sort out a rota so they release records in adjacent years.