I completely fell in love with ‘Wind In The Wires’, with its haunting mix of folk and laptop wizardry...hopefully his newie will be equally classic. Short excerpts are streaming from his site: check them out and let’s hear what you think.
Yeah the cover is a bit gaudy, but at least the guy’s comfortable with who he is.
Also, if anyone has actually heard all of ‘The Magic Position’, a mini review would be awesome cause there’s not much press out on it just yet.
12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
Patrick’s spectacular third album, 5 Jan 2007
Reviewer: Music dude (the South!)—See all my reviews
Some might say this is Patrick going POP, but it’s not that simple. Piano, ukulele, violin, beats, trumpets, his astonishing voice, fireworks, Marianne Faithful, static noise and a procession of beautiful melodies and wonderfully constructed tunes. Past the screaming, dissonant adolescent identity crisis of his debut and the tortured, remote spacefolk of his (still outstanding) sophomore, we have an area of energetic calm. Patrick Wolf is the nearest thing to a new Kate Bush. That’s big praise. This album has big tunes and a greater sense of musical joy to it than almost anything else you’re likely to hear in 2007. Spectacular isn’t the word. His only peers are Guillemots and Acoustic Ladyland. Everyone else making music in the UK right now is an emo/MOR chancer and might as well go home. Magical.
The album’s great, he’s rocking it live, dude’s awesome. I love him.
Is Patrick Wolf the second Sufjan Stevens?
Y/N?
If Sufjan had half the musicality of Patrick, perhaps.
....Sufjan can probably play more instruments than Patrick. Don’t dump on him because his albums sound pretty. He learned from Danielson and he can be abstract and arty.
Um, Patrick can play a lot of instruments, but that’s not what I meant. I don’t mean Sufjan isn’t “abstract and arty” enough—I mean his music’s not as good.
Oh no, please don’t bring Sufjan into this, I find his music mediocre at best regardless of how pretty it all sounds. And fwiw, I don’t think Patrick Wolf is all that abstract or arty, he just writes better songs and some prettier ones too.
The Magic Position is great! I think he’s taking very cautious steps towards going all !pop! but he’s not quite there yet. It’s definitely his most accessible record, but with enough weirdness to keep people guessing. The Kate Bush comparison is spot on, he loves Kate Bush and it’s certainly better than the Bjork-as-a-boy label that he’s been getting so far.
I do sort of miss the confused, howling-over-laptop-bleeps, 16-year-old Patrick though.
I’d have to go with Wolf over Stevens....his music is much more evocative and varied. I find that i rarely play ‘Ilinois’ or ‘Seven Swans’ anymore....I need to be in a very specific mood if I do. As far as musical personalities are concerned, Wolf is also a much more intruiging offer.
That photo of Sufjan wearing wings looks like they’re a stage prop. Patrick actually does dress like an idiot out and about.
Patrick’s first was mind blowing. I missed his second one somehow. The new one is somehow better than the first.
i still think the first is the best, i miss his electronic anthems
I’m not usually someone who notices lyrics much but I just love the striking imagery in a lot of the songs on Lycanthropy, especially in songs like “Bloodbeat”, and “To the Lighthouse”. Not to mention “The Childcatcher” ha.
“My blood beats black tonight.” He doesn’t write like that anymore, or at least, his lyrics doesn’t seem as compelling on the Magic Position. But like I said, I’m not much of a lyrics person. I just kind of miss it a bit, being unexpectedly struck by a good line.
Sufjan Stevens isn’t just about one record. You have to listen to Danielson and include that in his repetoir.