A preview of my forthcoming annual, year-end, favourite albums post. Below is an album that is definitely under consideration - time will tell where it ends up on, or off, the final list.
Patrick Watson - Adventures in Your Own Backyard
When Mr. Patrick Watson, along with his standup band, previewed this album at Koerner Hall late last year it obviously wasn't just the beautiful venue that made it such a magnificent show. As promised by the title Watson takes us on a new journey within a familiar context by singing his uniquely excellent voice atop beautiful, lush arrangements. The strings are lovely, the guitar work great, the brass splendid, the piano requisite, and all of the other sometimes-unorthodox instruments find their home comfortably in your backyard as well. Lighthouse, Step Out for Awhile and Into Giants all build into bold and beautiful creations, while Morning Sheets hearkens to Beck's critically acclaimed (and personally acclaimed) Sea Change album in its stripped down sound and evocative violins alongside the downbeat guitar. When the quietly pretty instrumental The Things You Do transitions to Strange Crooked Road it makes the latter stand out so much more. Patrick Watson's Close to Paradise won the '07 Polaris Music Prize, whereas Adventures was merely long-listed which seems a travesty as over and over again the album brings fresh beauty with each play.
Feel free to check out last year's list or my Top Albums lists dating back to 2002 on my previous Vernacular blog.
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