Has A Good Home

Experiencing an Owen Pallett live show around 2010 was great from a technical standpoint. All the usage of loop pedals building up a song structure is interesting. The problem is that on an album it is not a impressive as at a live performance, having multiple takes. Apart from that it's a method used by a lot of artists (f.e. Andrew Bird). Anyway, the album is ok. The songs are nice, but not outstanding. The violin parts are great, but a more diverse collection of instruments would be better and not all vocals are on the spot. Still it contains a lot of funny and interesting ideas.

Interesting sound. Never heard of this band before. I immediately liked it, but it did get a little old by the end of the album. I'd definitely listen to it again though. These songs would be great mixed in with other great songs - that way when they do come up the sound is refreshing and never tired. 4/5

Sad boy music to be sad to

Another Canadian I'd never heard of before. A lot of talent here. A little high toned and rarified maybe, and the lyrics didn't really stick with me, though they seemed smart while I was listening to them. Made for a surprisingly sprightly workout. Extra point for being unabashedly non-pop.

Indie pop, classical, baroque pop, art rock, electronic music. Muy bonico. Para mí, mezcla entre Rufus Wainwright y The Great Auk.

Very cool. I'm a sucker for good violin-based indie music. 4 stars.

Rating: 8/10 Best songs: This is the dream of win & regine, Adventure.exe, Library, That’s when the audience died, An arrow in the side of final fantasy, Please please please

Unique sound, with the violin. Was a nice little surprise

Reminds me quite a bit of Sufjan Stevens, only a good bit less self-indulgent. Good find.

Never heard of this guy and I live in the town he grew up in! Interesting work I enjoyed it but I don’t feel drawn to listen again

Cool album. I knew who Owen Pallett was through Arcade Fire, but I had never sat through a LP of theirs, and I really enjoyed the experience. There's a whiff of Penguin Café Orchestra and Arthur Russell in their minimalistic artistry, mixed with a more recent indie pop sensibility that makes their experimental songs endearing and cinematic. Owen has a good home indeed. I don't really agree with listeners who only hear a sadboy shtick in this record. I think Pallett often goes to far more tongue-in-cheek, whimsical turf than that ("Please, Please, Please" is weird as f*ck, for instance), actually making that tag sound unfair. And I don't think you need to witness the musician's violin loop routine onstage to appreciate those songs. I can only concede that the payoff at the end of some of those cuts -- most of them very short -- feels a bit thin on a first listen, but I suspect that the more you play them, the less that apparent flaw hinders your pleasure if you love those sorts of tones -- indeed not so far from the "Eleanor Rigby" template. Of course, there are clear standouts and less striking compositions in this record. Referencing their Canadian pals with whom Owen had recently recorded *Funeral*, "This Is The Dream Of Win And Régine" is an absolute banger, for instance. It also appears that the strongest cuts are to be found in the last leg of this LP, with "An Arrow in the Side of Final Fantasy", ripping off a Super Mario video game soundtrack (!), "Please Please Please", "Better Than Worse" (a rearrangement of a Bobby Birdman song), or the very delicate closer "The Sea". If ever you think listening to this sort of music for the whole course of an LP might feel a bit long for you, please go directly to the second digital "disk" on the deluxe edition of *Has A Good Home* (actually Final Fantasy's 7" EP *Young Canadian Mothers*, released not long after). That second disk encapsulates Pallett's pop genius in a neat little package, with different, more sprightly versions of "This Is The Dream Of..." and "The Sea", the absolute jewel "Spell For A Weak Heart", and a stellar cover of Joanna Newsom's "Peach, Plum, Pear". So make yourself some tea, sit on your favorite armchair in your living room, listen to this thing (either the original, or the deluxe version, or just the EP), and enjoy. If you love those sorts of tones, or are intrigued enough by the start of this album, you probably won't regret it. 3.5/5 for the purposes of this list of essential albums, rounded up to 4. 8.5/10 for more general purposes (5 for musical competency + 3.5 for the artistry) Number of albums from the original list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 465 Albums from the original list I *might* include in mine later on: 288 Albums from the original list I won't include in mine: 336 ----- Number of albums from the users list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 43 Albums from the users list I *might* select for mine later on: 56 (including this one -- a thousand thanks for the suggestion, anonymous user, but I think I need to dig further into Pallett's discography to make up my mind about this one re my own potential 1001 albums list) Albums from the users list I won't select for mine: 107 --- Émile: voir ma toute dernière réponse sous le disque *Triage* au-dessus.

Intriguing sounds! Happy to have discovered this ”chamber-indie”

Sickly

This nice violin boy sure is nice

4 3

Musically quite pretty, but sorely in need of a better vocalist. A bit soft on the back half. Fave Songs: Your Light is Spent, The CN Tower Belongs to the Dead, This is the Dream of Win & Regine

Interesting… I’m not sure it grabbed me but it was atmospheric and interesting.

Indie pop, classical, baroque pop, art rock, electronic music. Ni fu ni fa.

For a split second I thought somebody submitted a video game soundtrack. Agree with the guy who said this sounds like somebody doing Eleanor Rigby for 45 minutes, but disagree on that being a bad thing. It's a cute album and some of the wackier choices like "An Arrow In The Side of Final Fantasy" being essentially a violin cover of the Super Mario Land 2 space world theme give it heart. No actual Final Fantasy covers though, so like, what even is the point of calling your musical project that. I demand the indie violin version of One Winged Angel.

Really enjoyed the violin but by the end of the album his vocals just grated on me. Somewhere between a 2 and a 3. It’s different enough for me to give it a 3.

Indie pop, classical, baroque pop, art rock, electronic music. Ni fu ni fa.

You have to look up ‘Owen Pallett’ and then you have to get it off the deluxe edition so you don’t have to have some bs extra songs and by the time you get there it’s fine

I feel like I just listened to 45 minutes of someone ripping off Eleanor Rigby over and over. It was alright (if most definitely not my thing) for the first 5-6 songs, but that was all it did. Every song was nigh-on identical, down to the instrumentation, build, vocal phrasing etc etc. This is the sort of album that I feel bad giving a 2, as the dude is clearly a passionate artist etc etc, but at the same time, that was FAR too bland to get a 3.

Don't get it, the violins were nice

At first I thought this guy was just another indie style musician but then the music got a little weird and a little more sad. After listening I saw he did the scores for Her and for Dream Scenario which makes sense where the oddness came from. It’s not a bad album. The instrumentals are very good, but the style and lyrics are just a bit odd to enjoy thoroughly. 5.6/10

Didn’t really click with me – lots of great instrumentation packed into some complex arrangements, but the LP never coalesced into a satisfying whole. Feels almost confused with so many ideas rather than a cohesive artistic statement

No, sorry. I have just come back from a terrible holiday and I could do without this. I don’t know what it’s for, or who it’s for. Not for me that’s for sure.

a selection of jaunty tunes for jaunty boys.