Artist: Patrick WatsonAlbum: Adventures in Your Own Backyard
Album Listening: Circulus Sonus (an album best listened to as a whole)
I stumbled upon this album quite recently and, quite frankly, fell in love. The style of music that Patrick Watson makes-no that is not the right word-builds, is unlike anything mainstream that I have heard. He employs piano, winds, guitar, some brass, and snippets of everyday life (door shutting, trucks driving); using the ensemble to build a sort of collage of ambient musical beauty. His voice is a little more than a whisper, often in falsetto. Yet it doesn't quite feel falsetto, making me, as the listener, wonder if this is how he talks in everyday life.
If this album lacks one thing, it is a standout single. The closest for me was the opening track "Lighthouse", but even it falls short when listened to as a stand-alone. Indeed, many of the songs seemed to melt into one, sounding similar (i.e. a certain trumpet [I think] riff is found in more than one song). For this to be understood and appreciated, the album is best listened to as whole and taking one song out of this concoction will make it sound much less effective than if listened to with it's buddies. Is there simply not a song in Adventures in Your Own Backyard good enough to stand alone? Maybe. Or maybe Mr. Watson intended the album to be listened to as a whole, so that his repetition and flow could be best comprehended and enjoyed. What is Picasso if you take away one color, and that color is blue? You are left with something less great that with what you started. The same goes for this album. Patrick Watson has brought his music full circle, take away one chink and the chain is broken. But listened to as a whole, his album is built strongly. For this, I applaud him.
Half the intrigue of an album is the cover, which can reel me in or turn me off. Adventures in Your Own Backyard is indeed a perfect name for this collection of songs, which flow together beautifully, making you wonder if you need to go to far away places to experience adventure. Maybe adventure is there and you didn't even know it. Maybe you don't even need to leave your neighborhood.
Standout tracks: There are no ultra-catchy, radio ready singles here, just singular, smooth listening tunes. Highlights include the wistful opening track "Lighthouse" which ends on a Salsa-like beat and the mostly piano driven "Quiet Crowd". Also noticeable is the singsong "Into Giants" and the instrumental "Strange Crooked Road".
