NW Reviews: Owen Pallett – Heartland

This month hasn’t been packed with game-changing music, to say the least. Much of it has been predictable, rehashing of other music, or just not inventive enough. There aren’t many people who can step into a genre, saturated with good talent, and really change minds. Owen Pallett is definitely putting a foot forward and making his case. Heartland is maybe the most different singer-songwriter attempt I’ve heard in a long time, and definitely can turn some heads.

Mr. Pallett himself is most known for his studio work, being the composer of many string compositions for many indie artists (Arcade Fire, Beirut, and Grizzly Bear included). Knowing this, his album might be reminiscent of these indie staple-bands, and rightfully so. However, the album only slightly resembles the tone of his former employers. This new album is definitely more of something else. Maybe best to describe this as “indie classical music”. That might be over-the-top to say, as it really is an elaborate singer-songwriter attempt, but it’s surely something else to label it as.

Owen Pallett live is definitely toned down from his album. Impressive to see his almost-robotic time as he samples himself with a loop station of some sort, although it lacks the beauty the album strikes with. The video above is a great example. The song on the album definitely sounds similar to this attempt, but obviously lacks many things that the album includes. For one, the beautiful vocal harmonies he has. For two, more weirdness. The album is full of great vocals and weird scratching noises and such, and there isn’t a clone of him on tour either… so many of the nice, lovely things the album has doesn’t translate fully to the stage. Although, the idea that he does percussion, violin, and sings all at once is definitely a sight to see, and worth it if you’re into Owen Pallett.

The entire album is really nice to sit and listen to. That’s something to say, since many people don’t have the attention span or care to sit and listen to any given album. I feel as if I could sit and listen to this album on loop at any given time. It’s a great mix of noise, touched by care. Maybe the voice might be not-so-lovely for others, but I enjoy it much. It’s hard to dislike what this album offers. Also, this album takes a major stab at what is out there in terms of singer-songwriters. Owen Pallett is doing something completely out of the box in my opinion, and making it happen. There is much to learn from here. Although some songs are definitely familiar in tone (sadly, the almost-title track, “Oh Heartland, Up Yours!”, is familiar in arrangement) the album has plenty to offer aside from how a song is structured. This would be what I would consider a very very great attempt at experimenting within a genre.

Variation is a concern, even though the album itself almost flies through a spectrum of different sounds. Owen Pallett sits in a certain sound, erring on lo-fi and hopped up on complexity. The music produced is fantastic, but the amount of fantastic music produced could be pressing on people who aren’t completely sold on the sound. Be prepared to listen to some similar sounds up until the song “Lewis Takes Off His Shirt”. From then on out, it gets pretty fun. Up until then it’s pretty serious, bro.

This album is definitely a contender. I can’t say much else about it, as far as praises go. I am very interested in the next Owen Pallett adventure. I would recommend this album to everyone. Oh yeah, that reminds me of a part of my reviews I totally forgot about!!

People who would like this album: awkward music listeners. If your iPod has “interesting” artists listed next to each other, even though it’s alphabetical and you have no control over that (e.g. Death Cab for Cutie + Disney Soundtracks), this might be the perfect album to introduce to your album flow. Plus, it fits in pretty well if your “O” list is Onalaska!, onelinedrawing, and Owen Pallett. Others who would like this: people into Death Cab, Onalaska!, and onelinedrawing. Actually, Jonah Matranga (ex-onelinedrawing) is pretty similar is concept to Owen Pallett, as far as songwriting goes. They both have interesting arrangements but aren’t afraid to kick it back down to an almost-pop level if they feel it. Both mutually enjoyable. Collaboration please?

This album goes above and beyond. Get at it.