Owen Pallett

Heartland (Domino)

By Katy Henriksen
Published: January 31st, 2010 | 3:15pm

With Heartland, Owen Pallett has done more than shed the Final Fantasy moniker and escape from the adolescent leanings of He Poos Clouds (Tomlab). On his third full-length release, Pallett proves that he’s here to stay as a solo artist — not just the go-to string arranger for the likes of Beirut and Arcade Fire — with 46 minutes of swelling tremolo–synthy loops of lofty ear candy.

That’s not to say Pallett should be — or wants to be — taken entirely seriously. Anyone who interprets Heartland as a purely classical and cerebral exercise has it wrong. What Pallett does so well is upend seeming opposites, blurring the lines between high and low, classical and pop, silly and serious. Here the pulse of videogame–like beats collides with the cascading swell of densely layered, over-the-top strings and the theatrical flourishes of Kurt Weill’s raucous Berlin mesh against sleek minimalist loops. Pallett knows just how far over-the-top he can go in order to keep his sound from falling apart into a jumble of chaos, as evidenced by standout tracks “The Great Elsewhere” and “Lewis Takes Off His Shirt.”

Heartland is not only a testament to a solo artist honing a singular sound; this 12-song cycle, with its expansive and cinematic scope, rewards repeated listens. Each spin reveals another smartly–crafted layer while the refined pop hooks continue to unravel into sonic bliss.

Owen Pallett official site

Owen Pallett MySpace page

Domino