‘Adventures In Your Own Backyard’ is PATRICK WATSON (the band’s) latest album, his/their fourth, and follows on from 2009’s ‘Wooden Arms’.
For the uninitiated, Patrick is a Canadian singer songwriter from Montreal; he was originally part of the ska band Gangster Politics before starting a solo career. From then on, it gets a little confusing. He formed a band which currently includes Simon Angell on guitar, Robbie Kuster on drums and Mishka Stein on bass. Patrick is vocalist and keyboard player and his band is also called Patrick Watson (told you it was confusing).
This album has arrived after a hectic five years touring the world in support of their last two albums, thus ensuring the band are proficient players. They don't fall into any one specific genre easily, as there are elements of blues, jazz, classical and cabaret styles which run throughout and interweave within the songs.
The album opens with ‘Lighthouse’, which starts with a stark, minimal piano and guitar arrangement before bass and drums come in, meaning that this is one that grabs the listener right from the start. Patrick’s falsetto vocals add to the atmosphere. The lyrics are a little oblique: - “Leave a lighthouse in the wild, cause I'm coming in a little blind/ Dreamer of a lighthouse in the woods.”
‘Blackwind’, which follows changes the pace a little, based around a fast acoustic guitar strum, and has a folky, slightly country vibe. Once again the lyrics have a slant on them that is removed from literal meaning, but are no less imaginative for that: - “Black Wind's blowing us up above the ground/ Everybody hold that one in the arms that you love/ Black Wind's blowing us harder every day/ Don't waste your time moving on with yesterday/
Everybody smile when the wind blows us away/ Hands in the air everybody, give in to the storm/ Can't control the weather, just gotta bring what you need.”
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Tracks such as ‘Step Out For a While’ have an irresistibly jazzy feel which is accentuated by the upright bass and excellent percussion. In some ways this track seems like a distant relative of some of Tom Waits’ tracks on ‘Rain Dogs’. The lyrics also boost this connection: - “Mmmmmm, It's right about time. You better pick your poisons right/ Take a little walk with me now/ Take a little break from thinking all the time/ Cause I need a fever darling, to make it on top.”
The single chosen from the album is ‘Into Giants’, which is certainly the appropriate choice as it's anthemic jazzy pop and works well on all levels (despite at times reminding me a little of Sparks in their heyday). The lyrics are all about relationships, how sometimes they can grow, and sometimes wither: - “Grew so tall our heads hit ceilings. Trouble seems so slow/ Outgrew all the doors and walls. We never needed anybody
For ends to meet again. Started as lovers/ Don't know where it’s gonna end.”
The eighth track on the album, ‘The Things You Do’ is a slight oddity; an instrumental track which is piano based and just builds. It is really effective and works well in its setting.
Though Patrick’s falsetto vocal does tend to grate at times, 'Adventures In Your Own Backyard' should appeal to a wide cross section of music fans from blues to jazz to folk and it will surely help him/them on the way to a wider audience.
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