Patrick Watson and his eponymous band are back this year with a new album, following up on 2012’s Adventures In Your Own Backyard, and to kick things off they’ve put out the experimental flare of lead track, Places You Will Go to act as a mind warping introduction to their latest material. Far reaching and yet infused with an element of self deprecating humour it’s an unconventional indie pop track that sounds like hushed psychedelia meets condor flapping folk transcendentalism in high heels and we’re pleased to say that we like it a lot as a result.
The new album is called Love Songs For Robots and it’ll be making its way on CD, vinyl and digital download to a record shop/online musical distributor on the 11th May 2014. If Places You Will Go is anything to go by it should be class. The single track, which you can take a listen to with the slightly surreal music video below, isn’t the only new song from the album available ahead of the release. We’ve also had the classical instrumental beauty of the title track and In Circles, along with the humming gramophone electro Salvadore Dahli infused Turn Into The Noise and all signs are pointing to it being something on the special side of the musical spectrum.
If you’re a fan of the band or you become one as a result of reading our review the bad news is that their one and only UK show for the album launch at London’s brilliantly named Bush Hall (11th May 2015) is already well and truly sold out. However, if you’re desperate to catch them live and you’ve missed your chance for their British stopover, you can always try to either catch up with them on the rest of their European tour, head over the Atlantic for the Stateside leg of the fleeting globetrotting expedition or cut them off at the pass at the Calgary Folk Festival in July. Anyone not quite so zealous, but still keen, you’ll have to contend yourself with listening to the song, plumping for the album and closing your eyes to imagine that you’re at a live show. Alternatively you can catch them at the Green Man Festival in August.
Back to the song itself, Places You Will Go is a stunning mix of sounds with Patrick Watson’s melodic vocals skimming across the top of them like a stone on infinite bounce. The ringing guitar notes and reverb laced slide are sublime to say the least and they all rest on a strong bassline, ukulele rhythm and skiffle drums, which makes for an infinitely listenable track. The addition of variation takes it up to the next level with little segues into over-driven guitar chord sequences and synth randomness.
The video is pretty simple on the face of things, but it’s been kicked into mind bending proportions thanks to the work of the directorial team of Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski. The Academy Award nominated duo shot the video in a single take in a cramped Sequoia cabin in Northern Quebec, adding in the over-sized face close-up special effects in post production to build on the band’s experimental nature.
If you’re wondering what inspired Watson during the writing and recording process for Love Songs For Robots, he’s been pretty open about things starting out as a, “science fiction R’n’B meets Vangelis erotica with a zest of folk kind of record”. However, halfway through he found himself having “a bad year,” which prompted him to include more personal themes. Apparently, he “started thinking about how emotional reactions were more mechanical than we think and the only thing left between us and artificial intelligence is the act of inspiration”. Whether you agree with this or not, you can’t argue with the fact that he’s looking at things in his own unique way, which has contributed to the left-field genius of Places You Will Go.
Patrick Watson, Places You Will Go review: 4.5/5
