Releasedate: 11-05-2009; Label: Secret City Records / v2 recordings
By: Sabine van Gameren
Patrick Watson, The singer/songwriter from Canada released with his self-named band a new album called “Wooden Arms”. This is the third release of Patrick Watson as a band.
Patirck Watson makes music inspired by classical elements, Indie pop and the typical Singer/Songwriter music. First impression of the music made you realize the music would do extraordinary well in film. The songs tend to be very dreamy, leaving it up for your own interpretation as it does not come with a film yet. Somehow a bit of a sad tone can be felt, but the album is far from depressive. Just don’t expect happy happy, joy joy either. Patrick hits the higher notes quite often in his songs and his voice seem to fit perfectly in this range. The choice of instruments give a little artsy touch to the sound. Percussion is present in various ways in some songs getting close with Tom Waits, piano with jazzy edges. A piece of strings must be in here as well and Patrick Watson found the violin as the perfect add for the album.
Before wondering whether this music is something you would like, you have to be sure that this music is in your genre, even though Patrick Watson hits various genres, it is not music that will be liked by the masses. The elite music listeners, those who love to lock themselves up with a headphone, listening carefully to the music while dreaming away by the sweet vocals will feel comfortable in the dream world of Patrick Watson. For those who love to take a bet and try it anyway I recommend listening the album a couple of times before making a statement about it. You will miss too much of it when you have your judgment ready after hearing it once.
About two and a half years, it took from their second release until this one. This also because the band have been touring a lot after their last album and they seem to have built a steady reputation as being a great live act. Patrick Watson could have been seen on various big European festivals before and who knows where the band will go to this time. A club tour is planned, but have a close eye on their websites to make sure you won’t miss out on one of their shows.
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Tracklist: 1. Fireweed 2. Tracy’s Waters 3. Beijing 4. Wooden Arms 5. Hommage 6. Traveling Salesman 7. Big Bird in a Small Cage 8. Down at the Beach 9. Man Like You 10. Where the Wild Things Are |
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