Breakdown: Patrick Wolf- The Bachelor Review

8.8/10

Patrick Wolf has never done things by the book. Rather than concealing his flamboyant red hair, effeminate dress sense and choir boy voice, the 14 year old boy set out on a journey to prove the bullies wrong. Changing his last name from Apps to Wolf, he left school and home at 16, busking and honing his stage act, eventually releasing his solo debut ‘Lycanthropy’ in 2003, and never looked back. ‘Can’t you see, I’m the next Madonna’ he proclaimed. No… far, far more. The chameleon nature, sure, but his talent is on another level, changing genres about as much as hair-styles.

Patrick’s 4th album proper is full of past references, drawing on his 3 previous albums, evolving a greatest hits of sorts. And it needs to be, after he left Universal earlier this year, as they were trying to alter his image and sound. Patrick set about financing the remainder of the recording himself, through Bandstocks. It’s an intriguing business model, allowing fans to pay £10 for a share of the album, exclusive material previews and live shows. A gamble, but my current impression is that Universal should have let Patrick follow his instinct, as it’s been 100% on the money until now.

This isn’t the finished ‘Patrick Wolf’ brand, mind, due to the evolutionary progress that he is sure will continue. We should hope so, because his inability to stick to one style has sprung some of the most enjoyable and challenging music of the last 10 years, and a character that I am sure will once be remembered as one of the greats. Mr. Wolf has yet to put a foot wrong.

I’m going to take you on a track by track review of the 14 song long album. I’ll be updating the review as I learn more about the album and the meaning behind each song. As a teaser, the Battle megamix was just a warm up:

1. Kriespiel- things begin with a 50 second chorus of white noise (it sounds like a theremin… Patrick constructed his first at the age of 11!). It’s ominous, it’s random, but it’s also surplus to requirements, just like ‘Secret Garden’, the only low point on ‘A Magic Position’. Strings break through at the end, however, to change the tone. Kriespel is unnecessary, unless you are able to read into it… (No score)

2. Hard Times- Similar to Bloc Party’s radio prelude in ‘Hunting For Witches’, there’s a station seeking sound in the build up here, and on my first listen, I immediately felt that the impact of Kriespiel (if any) was lost. Why return to electronics when the only meaningful use of Kriespiel was to show the intention of moving on to strings. The strings join in, however, and ‘Hard Times’ represents one of the strongest melodic songs on ‘The Bachelor’. This is clear explanation that this album is to ‘Lycanthropy’, ‘Wind in the Wires’ and ‘The Magic Position’ as ‘In Rainbows’ was to ‘The Bends’, ‘Kid A’and ‘Hail To The Thief’: an intriguing mix of the 3. Single number 2, and its probably going to be more successful than ‘Vulture’, as a progression of his most succesful ‘The Magic Position’ material. ‘Time for some… Revooooluuutionnnn’ he sings: … not quite, this is well within his comfort zone. 10/10

3. Oblivion- There’s a seamless transition into ‘Oblivion’, a song that reminds me of ‘The Childcatcher’. Now we start to see some change. Everything is tightly strung, nearing breaking point. Perhaps a little too tight- ‘Oblivion’ never fully cashes in on its promise. Guitars, used infrequently on Patrick’s albums, are accompanied with an overly frantic drum machine beat and some slightly off key vocals. The ambition of ‘The Bachelor’ as a whole is pretty obvious here, but its on knife edge.  7/10

4. The Bachelor- A more upbeat duet- in comparison with ‘Magpie’- this time complemented by a vocal from Eliza Carthy. Patrick has always been a performer (his love of attention was another reason for the bullying, apparently), and ‘The Bachelor’ showcases this side of his personality. Patrick chose Alec Empire to help with the production of his new album, alongside electronic legend Matthew Herbert.  8/10

5. Damaris- Plucked strings and bells accompany what begins a low key ballad. However, the song builds until the climax- ‘God damn… Damaris’. A choir calls in ‘Rise up, rise up, rise up’ to bring the song to a euphoric end. ‘Damaris’ wouldn’t sound out of place on the soundtrack to the upcoming ‘Clash Of The Titans’ film… Patrick needs to be careful though- any more strings or choirs and his next album is going to fall in on itself.  9/10

6. Thickets- In order to appreciate the beauty of Patrick’s voice, you really have to see him live. His pitch is perfect, even as he writhes around on stage, often climbing up lighting rigs but still maintaining his brilliant vocal performances. His appearance often changes, stripping to weird Victorian style garments, but the musicality is a constant. ‘The Bachelor’ represents a move away from his usual production, with the vocals further up in the mix. It’s entirely necessary for this song, the sound of traditional Britain in 4 minutes. 8/10

7. Count Of Casualty- Processed beats open up this turning point, a song from the perspective of an out of control computer. ‘I dare you, log off’. The beats were made on an Atari when Patrick was 16. The song is essentially controlled mayhem, with everything available chucked in- choirs, drum machines, strings, bass, synths- you name it. And again, Patrick pulls off the combination with obvious ease. ‘Casua…casua…lty…casua…casua…alty. 8/10

8. Who Will?- The choir is fittingly accompanied by an organ on this slow burner, but they are ultimately outshone by Patrick, drawing out at a low whisper and working his way up to the upper register. Truly epic. He pulls it out of the hat, accommodating both a drum machine and a church organ within the same score. The track position highlights something I believe is completely unique about Patrick: have you ever known someone who can so instantly switch between moments of undiluted happiness and optimism and then move onto songs concerning unspeakable acts? 9/10

9. Vulture- The lead single is the most disjointed song on ‘The Bachelor’, also dredging up some of the worrying images of Wolf’s earlier work. The S&M video outfit was controversial (an unintended reaction, at a guess), but more interesting was the choice of a bird suit, harking back to Lycanthropy, when Patrick was admittedly obsessed with lycan mythology and animals. The single is strangely alluring, and stands a good chance on the charts as a result of that dirty electro melody. The remixes are already appearing… 9/10

10. Blackdown- The roots of his musical influences pour out here. I always remember watching videos of Patrick behind the piano, and he is often most effective when the complexity is kept to a minimum- after all, this is where his talent began. It’s important to consider that this is a man just as comfortable on the mixing deck as he is on the harpsicord. It’s a skillset that not many can boast. Blackdown is a song of two parts, first with a solo on the piano, then joined by a procession of pipes and bass drums. 8/10

11. The Sun Is Often Out- By far one of the most emotional songs… notably absent are the electonic beats. This is just Patrick, a choir and some strings. The stripped back approach produces one of the album highlights, suggesting that sometimes the circus need to be kept in check. ‘Life has blessed you with a gift, boy, that you’ve gone and thrown away.’ 10/10

12. Theseus- Tilda Swinton provides her voice to another epic production, as the ‘Voice of Hope’. They converse, supported solely by the reliant strings, and there is a nice interlude of sorts half way through. ‘With an appetite, so dangerouuouuus.’ 8/10

13. Battle- Things go a bit off track with ‘Battle’, a self-proclaimed ‘heavy-metal track’. The inspirations seem to be Pendulum and Does It Offend You, Yeah?, bringing in bass, synths and frantic half sung vocals. It’s an interesting experiment, and eventually a more melodic tune shines through, but the divine aura built up over the last few tracks is immediately extinguished. ‘Battle the homophobe, battle that war.’ This sounds like a song that’s been festering for a while, and a loss of composure. Patrick, you already proved them wrong, okay? This doesn’t belong. 6/10

14. The Messenger- And then… all the intensity is gone. The crashing drums and bass are lost to ‘The Messenger’s glockenspiel- lighter, obviously not intending to end the album on a negative note. It’s a sudden 180, but this doesn’t dull the impressive sheen Patrick’s image has taken with this new album, and will no doubt lead perfectly into ‘The Conqueror’, a selection of lighter songs. Mission accomplished. The album fizzles out as first the drums dissapear, then the strings, followed by Patrick. The organ is left to close the doors on one of the albums of the year. 9/10

When you buy a Patrick Wolf CD, you aren’t just buying a piece of music. I, personally, find it really interesting to find out a bit more about the person. He must never lose that intrigue or mystery, as it is arguably more important than the music itself. Reassuringly, Patrick has said he would rather stop making music is he became boring.

‘The Bachelor’ is further proof that in Patrick Wolf, we have found one of this century’s great talents. With the challenges of leaving his record label and the possibility that these records might never have seen the light of day weighing down on him, Patrick has again triumphed, producing an ambitious collection of songs. He again escapes categorisation, and the enigma rolls on. ‘The Conqueror’ has a hard act to follow.

‘The Bachelor’ is out on 1 June. Invest in the album over at Bandstocks. ‘Vulture’ was being released as a single on April 20th. ‘The Conqueror’ (Battle Part 2) is out in 2010. Read Paul Morley’s incredible biography over at Drowned In Sound. Pre-order the album on Amazon.



3 Responses to “Breakdown: Patrick Wolf- The Bachelor Review”

1. Ed says:

   May 12, 2009 at 8:33 pm

   This album will slip out of the collective consciousness soon; Patrick progressed with the over-the-top aspects of his Magic Position work and left the subtle beauty of his earlier output behind. It’s all too shimmery and sugary and theatrical. On The Bachelor, he sounds as though he’s made a caricature of himself. You comparison of his works and growth from album to album to Radiohead’s is totally off-mark and shouldn’t be tolerated! That’s my opinion anyway Thanks for the review!
2. Will says:

   June 2, 2009 at 11:36 am

   He has gone as far as saying this draws on all previous albums… as did ‘In Rainbows’. Surely that compounds my statement?

   Cheers for the comment!
3. Paul says:

   January 7, 2010 at 12:09 pm

   Great review,

   I think this album has completly gone under the radar, it was ignored by most of the musical press and by the mercury prize

   for shame