Review Summary: Final Fantasy finishes the boss level.
Blame the video game all you like, but Owen Pallett was more than likely going to shed the skin of Final Fantasy eventually. As exceptional as what he was doing was, needed a change from what he was doing in order to evolve into something greater as a musician. Indeed, if
He Poos Clouds, Pallett’s last release as Final Fantasy back in 2006, was a caterpillar, then
Heartland – his first release under his own name – is a radiantly colourful butterfly. Unquestionably Pallett’s finest work to date, repeated listens to the album result in the proper realisation of one of the first truly great records of 2010.
The core concept of Final Fantasy that assisted Pallett’s early work continues into
Heartland. The music still revolves around wavering, airy vocals (here at their most melodic and consistent), as well as unconventional, often vast and awe-inspiring arrangements. Instrumentally, in particular, Pallett is working with a wider array of sounds than ever before. Everything established thus far in his music career is here presented in a far greater expanded and more fully realised form than ventures past.
Pizzicato, harmonium, marimba, Wurtilizer and the celeste (Google them) are just a handful of unusual instruments used here, occasionally making themselves a part of the prominent central sound. In itself, this makes significant progression from the comparatively limited array of vocals, strings, piano and percussion that featured almost exclusively on
He Poos Clouds.
It is this particular sense of adventure in Pallett’s layered arrangements that assist songs like the wonderful "Midnight Directives" and the powerful "Oh Heartland, Up Yours!" in imprinting Owen’s bold new direction as an artist. Directives, the track that opens Heartland, commences to a low hum, before rising to percussive clicks, snare drum rolls and violins at a shrieking pitch. "Oh Heartland, Up Yours!" (presumably a titular reference to the X-Ray Spex track "Oh Bondage, Up Yours!") sees some of the sharpest and most sweeping arrangement work Pallett has ever put his name to – and considering his work with acts such as Arcade Fire and Beirut, this in itself is significant and practically essential listening.
Most of what Pallett attempts here is suitably outlandish and eager in its attempts to both test and define new musical ground. Electronic music, for instance, is notably touched upon for the first time, with the prominent synthesiser and heavily distorted beat of "Red Sun No. 5" pushing Pallett’s sound down a different and far more ambient path. One thing remains from the days of Final Fantasy, however – many songs here continue to observe the mixture of Owen’s passion for classical orchestration with a desire to manipulate and further develop these sounds into a new incarnation entirely.
"E is for Estranged" is an exemplary demonstration of this: in a swaying waltz time signature, Pallett takes both loops and movements of strings and horns in accompaniment of his quaint piano and mournful, hushed vocals that lament upon youthful desire, fatherhood and the impact of distances. “Haven’t you heard?/I am a flightless bird,” murmurs Pallett. “I am a liar/Feeding facts to a false fire.”
How much convincing do you need to experience
Heartland? How about this: the fact that the serene, glorious chamber pop (with a strong emphasis on the latter word) of "Tryst With Mephistopheles" could well be the finest song Pallett has ever penned and it’s only just being mentioned now should speak volumes of how much there is to explore and embrace on this wondrous record.
It will certainly be an intensely focused and possibly confronting listen to fans on first listen. What needs to be understood, however, is the more time you are willing to give to
Heartland itself as an overall album – in all its bizarre concepts, ambitious sounds and wailing vocals – the more rewarding it will become to listen to.
