For Heartland, Owen Pallett’s third album, the orchestral songwriter opted to drop his stage name, Final Fantasy, and release under his own name instead. The move feels intrinsically connected to Heartland’s lyrical and musical material, which makes for Pallett’s most personal and heartfelt work to date.
Whereas the songs of his last release, He Poos Clouds, dealt with the the magic of the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, Heartland follows the disturbing and murderous exploits of an old farmer named Lewis. Still, it’s hard to believe that the compositions aren’t just as much about Pallett himself. It’s easy to listen to the music without picking up on the underlying fictional narrative. Rather, many of the songs come across as deeply personal laments of love, of practicing restraint, of defining oneself.
The music mixes touches of subtle electronics with cinematic swells of orchestra. Pallett is much lauded for his orchestrational brilliance, and if anything, Heartland takes the sophistication of his arrangements a step further, using the instruments to create stormy and romantic surges of sound, textural clouds, and bouncing figures that draw from musical theatre. The music never loses its anchor of pop songwriting, however. “Lewis Takes Action” is one of Pallett’s catchiest (and best) compositions to date, and the hooks of album opener “Midnight Directives” are nearly impossible to extract from your head after a first listen.
Though a number of the songs shine with a poppy exuberance, the album as a whole exudes a sense of melancholy perfect for a rainy day or painful Sunday morning—songs like “Red Sun No. 5” and “E Is For Estranged” suck you into a floating and dreamlike world centered around Pallett’s mournful choirboy delivery.
This is music that continues to unfold after countless listens: there are innumerable timbres and contrapuntal lines to dissect, a compelling lyrical thread that ties together the suite of songs, and brilliant pop songwriting that makes you want to listen over and over. |