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Post by babynothing on May 24, 2009 14:14:37 GMT
South London pop experiementalist over indulges himself. * *
If you open your albem with a song, Hard Times, which rails against the mediocrity of the modern world, it might be worth ensuring it isn't the only tune out of 14 that sticks in the memory. Although on the sleeve of this forth album Wolf resembles a walking 80's pastiche you might find in an episode of ashes to ashes, there are precious few of the arty pop hooks this might suggest, and the charm and humour found on his 2007 major label debut The Magic Position are also largely absent. Scratches of folky fiddle, chattering background samples and clattering beats only serve to muddy the waters of nearly tuneful numbers like the title track, while elsewhere, would-be melodramatic soul searching too often sounds like pompous navel gazing self-pity. Sheep in wolfs clothing anyone?
BOOO! Don't agree with this review at all!!!
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Post by cmj on May 24, 2009 14:24:08 GMT
It would be interesting to see what other review sites/magazines rate it as.
"and the charm and humour found on his 2007 major label debut The Magic Position are also largely absent"
I guess I'd agree with this bit, at least.
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Post by jay on May 24, 2009 14:31:04 GMT
my mum said the bachelor sounded too cluttered for her ears, too.
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Post by cometojoy on May 24, 2009 15:09:01 GMT
oh, ultra bad times. i think it sounds incredible  |
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Post by oats on May 24, 2009 16:02:33 GMT
It’s alright, I’ve been prepared for this album to receive poor reviews. I’ll be surprised if it receives above average scores from any of the big fish.
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Post by bridgetbegins on May 24, 2009 16:33:00 GMT
my mum said the bachelor sounded too cluttered for her ears, too. I feel much the same way, unfortunately. I find it brilliant, but occasionally... overblown? overwhelming? and other available adjectives. Blah artist's license blah, but I'm not the biggest fan of bleep-beeepsss whirrrr bangs. |
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Post by cometojoy on May 24, 2009 16:53:34 GMT
maybe a tad cluttered in places, yes, but the end of Count of Casualty is such avant-garde genius that I can't help but be a bit amazed, though!
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Miyamashi
Empress
Is a Psychosomatic Princess
Posts: 155
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Post by Miyamashi on May 24, 2009 16:54:31 GMT
I think the album goes back a lot to the themes and feel of the pre-Magic Position albums. It has the sort of electric whirring feel of Wind in the Wires (as well as some shared themes), along with the sporadic feeling of Lycanthropy. I love the album, myself, but I can see how others wouldn't. As far as losing the charm from Magic Position, we have a love-based album on the way in the form of The Conqueror. This one's not supposed to be upbeat and happy.
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Post by dumbnoteclectic on May 24, 2009 16:59:55 GMT
I think the album goes back a lot to the themes and feel of the pre-Magic Position albums. It may go back to the themes, but it doesn't cover them half as well. I mean, I like the album - but not on a level with Patrick's first 3. |
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Post by cometojoy on May 24, 2009 17:07:59 GMT
maybe, but i think patrick's chosen one theme and expanded upon it, with all the different levels it could bear, e.g. theseus, he said it was about popstar-like characters fed up of people loving themselves.
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trixie
Libertine
stay blind to my future and fate
Posts: 124
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Post by trixie on May 24, 2009 19:17:42 GMT
the few reviews I've read are all positive.
On an italian music web I often read,Ondarock,they gave it 9/10.
At first I found this album too dense and cluttered,but after many,many listens,I began to get it and now I simply love it.More than TMP,differently from what I said in my last post about the album (in the rate thread).Not all the songs but the most of them.
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Post by Self Destruction on May 24, 2009 20:21:41 GMT
To be fair, that wasn't a review, more like an objective paragraph. It didn't really dive into any great detail, did it?
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Post by Self Destruction on May 24, 2009 21:33:28 GMT
To be fair, that wasn't a review, more like an objective paragraph. It didn't really dive into any great detail, did it? surely subjective, then? Sorry I get my words mixed up some times  |
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Post by sickmouthy on May 24, 2009 21:34:19 GMT
Objectivity is a lie.
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Post by cmj on May 24, 2009 22:54:22 GMT
This one's not supposed to be upbeat and happy. But so much of it is really happy even when singing about depressing things (not necessarily a bad thing - The Bachelor is a ridiculously happy song and is also one of my songs of the year). |
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Post by babynothing on May 25, 2009 8:34:57 GMT
Remember which magazine this was in, Mojo don't like anything recorded after 1975! i was surprised they even gave it 100 words!
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Post by cmj on May 25, 2009 9:32:55 GMT
Remember which magazine this was in, Mojo don't like anything recorded after 1975! i was surprised they even gave it 100 words! In all honesty I can't see it doing that much better in many other magazines. I reckon two/three stars will be what most give it. |
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Post by dumbnoteclectic on May 25, 2009 11:36:52 GMT
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Post by liam9976 on May 26, 2009 0:31:28 GMT
I feel like the positive reviews are influenced by the credibility of his previous works, which those music reviewers may be familiar with. Don't get me wrong, I am a HUGE Patrick fan - however, if I were to hear The Bachelor as an album before any of his others I would be disappointed. Compared to Wind in the Wires, which is one of my favourite albums of all time, it simply doesn't stand up. There's just lots of filler, to me the only stand-out tracks are the first four (that's including Kriegspiel, very effective opener once it has exploded into Hard Times) and Theseus, as opposed to his earlier albums where I can honestly say that I have fallen in love with every track. And contrary to what was being said earlier in the thread I prefer the more dense, cluttered sound on The Bachelor, it really adds to the atmosphere, reminds me of Lycanthropy. I think there's something more exciting (and challenging) in having all those sounds chopped up and re-hashed to create rhythms and melodies, as opposed to the sleek sheen of songs like Damaris and The Sun Is Often Out. The instrumentation is unimaginative if you ask me and makes them feel contrived and cheesy. I feel like Wolf is losing that avant-garde edge that made him so unique and exciting I want the Patrick of the first two albums to come back.. |
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salamandrina
Empress
I'm your girl and I will protect you
Posts: 180
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Post by salamandrina on May 26, 2009 17:16:06 GMT
personally, i think this may be my favorite wolf record and certainly will top my year end list. though, like what i wrote last night, it's going to be a grower and something that may require a bit of distance. listen, leave it for a few months, listen again. i do think if you give the album the patience, it's well worth it. at any rate, i have it filed other you get it or you don't. you're either going to be right in there or left shaking your head and wondering what just happened.
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