“Patrick Watson crazy AMAZING!”
…thus read the subject line of an email I got from a longtime-reader, first-time-writer named Jordan. I try to pay attention to the rabid recommendations of folks who have been following enough to know what will grab my ears, and MAN ALIVE did this one. I yelped out loud in elation last night when I watched this:
Man Under The Sea – Patrick Watson
(from 2006′s Close To Paradise)
Patrick Watson is a Canadian artist who I wrote about once before but had recently fallen off my radar. Well, that video is enough to put him smack-dab right on it again — with his goosebump-inducing voice, resonating with longing and swooping with desire.
Watson and his bandmates use bicycle parts and wine bottles for percussion and are “inspired by the foley effects of ’40s cartoons and the Twilight Zone.” Their newest album Wooden Arms came out just a few weeks ago, and was recorded during wintertime in Montreal and Iceland. What I’ve heard is redolent with an unsettling icy beauty.
My full-length copy is on its way to my very eager ears, but SixEyes wrote a wonderful review of it: “Patrick Watson’s 3rd full length is so intoxicating, so magical, that it has pushed every thing I’ve heard since, down a notch, or two. And it’s not just Watson’s voice, one that lives somewhere between the rooted grainy echo of M Ward and the soaring mercurial grace of Jeff Buckley, it’s the music which carries, and is carried by, that voice.”
SOLD. Listen to this off the new album — haunting:
Tracy’s Waters – Patrick Watson
Sixeyes also has Patrick’s 2007 Black Session, for a closer listen to his last record. Man oh man.
Name: Heather Browne
Yes! Downloading as we spe…type.
Matt — May 21, 2009 @ 7:30 pm
He doesn’t disappoint and if you can believe it, he’s better in concert. I saw his first show in the US back in 2007 opening up for a relatively unknown Elvis Perkins, now that was a show. A few days ago he blew into Portland and it was magical. He sang a capella with the audience on a few songs and he had this octopus-looking megaphone… anyway I could go on and on because he’s really become one of my five favorite bands at the moment. So good.
We had some decent video…
http://slyoyster.com/music/2009/patrick-watson-at-the-doug-fir-portland-5112009/
James — May 21, 2009 @ 7:40 pm
in the same vein and also amazing…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gt7fuzgYrc4
Robb — May 22, 2009 @ 2:51 pm
Thought his first album was great. Very disappointed in his most recent.
Steve Goldner — May 22, 2009 @ 8:12 pm
He also contributed to The Cinematic Orchestra’s album ‘Ma Fleur’. The song ‘To Build a Home’ is just exquisite.
Margaret — June 1, 2009 @ 2:54 pm
I first saw Patrick Watson at the Airwaves festival in Iceland in 2006 playing in a small record store called 12 tonar – completely by accident. I caught him right at the end of the set. Fortunately he played the end of festival sunday set at Gaukurrin and was widely touted as the highlight of the festival. If you’ve ever seen him do ‘Man Under the Sea’ live, you’ve never forget it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNhnuuNOoGg – man under the sea live
Live this band is on a different planet. Last night (4th June 09), they played a church called the Union Chapel in London and produced one of the most incredible concerts I have ever seen – almost a spiritual experience. If you ever get the opportunity to see this band live – Do it, Do it, Do it! Sell the kids for a ticket if you have to! It is well worth it
The other thing that comes across is that band love what they do and have a lot fun with it. Never seen a band laugh together as much as they do!
As for recording Wooden Arms is a grower – stick with it. It is not as immediate as Close to Paradise but in my opinion actually a better album, musically more complex.
It doesn’t surprise me in anyway that that album was part recorded in Iceland. I thought there were a couple of touches added that I have seen used by many an icelandic band like slowblow, mugison and sigur ros – bowing the guitar, playing the saw, the bicycle, anything they can lay their hands on etc…A mate of mine writes a blog on icelandic music – check out http://iceblah.typepad.com if you want to know more about this fascinating and underrated music scene.
Dunstan — June 5, 2009 @ 2:01 am
Sorry, just realised you had already posted a man under the sea video – should pay more attention really! Check it out though. No megaphone in that one – just his voice…
Dunstan — June 5, 2009 @ 2:02 am