Owen Pallett - Heartland
Former Arcade Fire member and string arranger extrordinaire Owen Pallett has always had a nerdy streak, but Heartland might well be his opus for dorkiness. Based on a sprawling narrative that charts a scrappy hero's quest to traverse a fictitious land and murder the author of his world, it seems slightly ironic that he chose to retire his Final Fantasy moniker. In spite of this, Pallett's third album is his finest to date; true, the concept might rob it of the emotional tether that gave previous releases so much power, but at its expense we're awarded with his most beautiful work thus far.
Bolstered by the Czech Philharmonic Orchestera, Heartland marks a grand broadening in scope. Arcade Fire drummer Jeremy Gara lends Pallett previously unrealised kineticism, whilst the myriad intricacies in the arangements give his orchestral pop as much depth as it has beauty.
Its unfortunate that the convoluted story might be off putting to some, as Heartland has enough fragility and scope to rival the best of Sufjan; alas, such is the curse of nerdiness.
Simon Docherty
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