OWEN PALLETT? Now he's a name to conjure with. Let's see...Ah, got it! he's the chap who's scored those spine-tingling string arrangements for the likes of Last Shadow Puppets and Arcade Fire, right? Yes indeed he is, but he's also better known under his usual nom de plume: Final Fantasy. So much so that he's already made two critically-acclaimed albums under that name.
With 'Heartland', though (his Domino début), he's broken free and used his real name. It's a brave move, for 'Heartland' could be construed as, well, certainly an 'ambitious', if not quite a 'difficult' third album. Envisaged as “a 45-minute piece of orchestral music and a set of songs for looped violin and voice”, 'Heartland' is hardly pop in the tried and tested sense (well, unless you take Bjork or Kate Bush as the starting point for Pop) and it requires time and effort on the listener's behalf. Rare commodities to demand in a world where our attention spans seem to get shorter by the day.
If that isn't challenging enough, it transpires 'Heartland' is (erk!) actually a 'concept' albums of sorts, with the songs forming “a narrative concerning a farmer called Lewis and the fictional world of Spectrum. The songs are one-sided dialogues with Lewis, a young ultra-violent farmer, speaking to his creator.” Got that? Sham 69 it surely ain't, my friends.
However, for all the highbrow conceits and the record's lengthy gestation across continents (Iceland, Czech Republic, USA and Canada), 'Heartland' is worth sticking with. Opening track 'Midnight Directives' gives you some idea of the record's yearning ambition with its' spacey, choral introduction and almost drum'n'bass-style beats, yet it has an indefinable air of nocturnal mystery all its' own and its' scattershot bursts of strings are enough to have even the casual listener's pulses racing.
Besides, parts of 'Heartland' really are accessible 'pop' of sorts even if you do have to squint a bit to recognise them as such. 'Lewis Takes Action', for example, has a Phil Spector-style beat and a seductive, creeping string riff and lots of playful woodwind. 'Keep The Dog Quiet' finds the violins settling into a lowdown, dirty groove before swirling into a whirlwind reminiscent of avant-pop masterpieces like The Young Gods' 'La Fille de la Morte' and – best of all – there's 'Oh Heartland, Up Yours!' which introduces not only the most 'song'-oriented approach on the record, but also takes a witty tilt at theology (“if heaven would not have me, I would seek the other option!”) which certainly raises a smile on this writer's mush.
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To be honest, it's hard to follow the 'concept' to its' conclusion, although Pallett's assertion that the Lewis character is “ultra-violent” appears to be borne out in several places, not least on 'Lewis Takes Action' where he confesses to having “broke his jaw, he'll never speak again”. Curiously, the fact that Pallett delivers the lyric in a high and angelic, yet strangely emotionless voice only adds to the tension in both the story and the music.
Admittedly, some of the tracks are 'further out' and rather more impenetrable. 'E is for Estranged' finds dissonant strings sparring manfully with a determined piano figure. 'What Do You Think Will Happen Now?' proffers a bizarre, two-steps-forward-but-three-back piano figure and an especially bloodless vocal and the odd 'Great Elsewhere' has interest and melody darting in and out of rolling drums and zig-zagging strings. All are disconcerting and alien, though they do offer enough of interest to warrant return visits.
Owen Pallett's 'Heartland', then, is not a landscape most guitar-oriented noiseniks like myself will be familiar with. However, at its' best, the glacial beauty of its' music is streaked with veins of warmth and humanity and after a few listens, it beckons you into a world where some of the natives may be friendly even if Lewis himself appears to be resentful of both his career choice and people who spill his pint. Maybe it's a destination you should consider visiting after all.
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