Owen Pallett - Heartland

The artist formerly know as Final Fantasy has decided to give up his old moniker to avoid some potential legal issues, now simply going by his name, Owen Pallett. This is not a terribly big deal since, A) Final Fantasy was essentially a solo project anyway, and B) Pallett is continuing to make incredible music, with this release likely to hold up as one of the best of the year as 2010 unfolds.

Owen Pallett - Heartland [Domino, 2009]

For those unfamiliar with Pallett's previous work as Final Fantasy, it's a little difficult to explain his characteristic sound. To compare him to Andrew Bird is a good starting point, as both root their music in culling as many different sounds out of a violin as possible and layering them to their whims. The most apparent departure is that while Bird tends to take cues more from pop and jazz music, Pallett leans more toward electronics and the orchestral bombast of musicals. This penchant for the grandiose becomes fully apparent on his latest album, Heartland, containing by far his most epic work to date.

Right out of the gate, Pallett whips out all of his trademarks-- layered, eerie strings supported by bubbling synthesizers and Pallett's own tenuous voice. The story is loosely a narrative supposedly about a fictional character, Lewis, who becomes aware of the fact that Pallett is singing songs about him and proceeds to retaliate. While I don't entirely follow the story, I do follow the fact that song for song, this album is incredible. The variation in sound and feeling that Pallett is able to achieve across the 12 tracks is nothing short of amazing. The orchestration is so intricate that it would give Sufjan Stevens and Nico Mulhy a run for their money. Pallett manages to achieve a perfect mix of strings and horns over synthesizers and piano that is just, well, perfect. Highlights here are "The Great Elsewhere" and "E is for Estranged" which show a mastery of arrangement not often seen in popular music of late. Still I would be remiss to call it a perfect album-- "Mount Alpentine" is brief and serves as a questionable transition and "Oh Heartland, Up Yours!" delves a little too far into minimalism and quickly becomes a bit boring. The last 5 tracks of the album create an ending so incredible though, it just makes you want to play the album all over again. You'll be glad you did.

download:   Lewis Takes Off His Shirt
download:   The Great Elsewhere

I saw Pallett play a few months ago at one of this last shows as Final Fantasy while on tour with The Mountain Goats. Make sure you jump at the chance to see him live--it is truly a treat. Check out this version of him powering through "Lewis Takes Off His Shirt" despite torrential downpours: