Review Summary: A wonderful dream that you’ll never want to wake up from.
Many artists that tend to do more experimental music try, sometime in their career, to make an album with a more “on the ground” approach to music, so they can prove themselves – and the public – that they actually can write “songs” in the way most people interpret the concept of a song. For an artist known for using bicycles as instruments, Adventures in Your Own Backyard is a way to prove deeper compositional skills and a different, simpler approach to music. Even though Watson still presents us quite an amazing bunch of intricate, sophisticated and yet harmonious dream pop songs, Adventures in Your Own Backyard is way less cold and distant than its predecessor, 2009’s Wooden Arms.
On this fourth album, Watson tries to concentrate on two sides of his music: the pop and ambient sides. But here, what he does best is not to make some songs sound ambient and some others sound poppier, but to really blend the two styles together to create one unique musical experience that should appeal fans of both styles. Of course, Watson has in there many songs that sound catchier and indie-influenced, but he writes them in a way so they don’t lose their originality, like in the captivating and beautiful Into Giants or the trippy, strangely arranged Step Out For A While. Also, the ambient side is prominent on some songs, but these songs do not really explore further than Watson usually does with his instrumental jams, except maybe in the wonderful and poignant finale that is Swimming Pools.
Another strong point of Adventures in Your Own Backyard is that, although every song has its own personality, the album feels like one big and united dream, making it a whole entity. With songs ranging from evocative soundscapes and catchy melodies to grandiose climaxes and more stripped down tunes, this album always goes back to the basic principle of making pop songs that are still interesting and captivating.
Lyrically, the album is also quite successful. Either revisiting often used themes such as campfire evenings as in Words in the Fire, either telling beautiful and self-reflective stories as with Into Giants, Watson's poetry and powerful imagery are all about the small and subtle details that make life what it is.
