Owen Pallett -- In Conflict

It approaches

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_wHDduVIxQ

ok that chord-bend about 15 seconds in. riding a giant contraharmonic artpop unicorn to valhalla!

*time passes*

this is so, so exciting, if only Owen knew how excited I am

If only we knew how to get in touch with him!

"This video is private.

Sorry about that."

I'll describe it to you, from memory. Basically it starts with a gospel-choir chanting the names of famous basketball players in melismatic polyphony, until the sound of typewriters slowly subsumes all that came before, accompanied by Owen's frantic screaming. Then there's a giant guitar bit that sounds like the Flaming Lips

hahahahahaha

giant guitar bit that sounds like the Flaming Lips

Owen's been listening to too much Deafheaven :(

so what you're saying is more evolution than revolution

Trailer now back so enjoy the basketball chanting.

Sounds pretty amazing.

May 13th is too far away.

wow that's really fun sounding
way faster pace than i expected

Looking forward

eno!

damn this is gonna be epic

full speed ahead

when was the last time eno sang?

this was released a year ago
http://youtu.be/A6WIbvwcVUg

yikes

I'm sorry. Some remedy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3Sj1aAWLr4

Tracklist, from the Domino site. Some live dates in May announced as well.

1. I Am Not Afraid
2. In Conflict
3. On A Path
4. Song For Five & Six
5. The Secret Seven
6. Chorale
7. The Passions
8. The Sky Behind The Flag
9. ---> (1)
10. The Riverbed
11. Infernal Fantasy
12. Soldiers Rock
13. ---> (2)

Several live versions are available on youtube

tour dates etc

http://pitchfork.com/news/53855-owen-pallett-announces-new-album-in-conflict-featuring-brian-eno-plus-tour/

No conflict on my end - super psyched! I love how Eno is dipping his toes back into working with younger folks (Eno appeared on the last James Blake record, too) rather than just sticking with boring-ass U2 and Coldplay all the time.

^^^

TWO NEW SONGS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gt8wR8CagQo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMr51844ybw

Trying that first embed properly:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gt8wR8CagQo

Sez the man on Twitter:

Video for The Riverbed by Eva Michon and stars my uncle Jim. Lyric video for On A Path by Steve Kado and stars some things around my house

Plus, this article:

http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/02/28/listen-up-will-owen-pallett-win-an-academy-award-this-sunday/

Holy shiiiiiiit "The Riverbed" is fucking incredible

^^^^

Fuck me that's AMAZING.

Just listened to The Path and my head is really full of conflicted and OMG, do I listen to this with proper respectful Serious Ears, or do I just give in to the overwhelming temptation to just lay back and go into ~full-on squealing fangirl ladyboner flapping~ because not to give into the latter feels like a dishonest expression of my experience of the music and my excitement over it. But to do so in any way would be REALLY. SERIOUSLY. AWKWARD. around here.

But mostly, y'know, just "this is too full of amazing sounds for me to intellectually process how great it is" at the moment.

Hot damn.

awesome song and video. uncle jim has a great look!

WAIT TIL YOU LISTEN TO THE RIVERBED HOLY FUCK HOLY FUCK

hE'S SO GOOD AT MUSIC

Oops caps.

No, I'm sorry I can't do this, because one half of my head is going "oooh, listen to those waves of distortion, interesting production choices there" and the other half is going "ALKDSFJAJA ;LDKF A;DFJ AKLDSFJ A;KDJF DJAOIDJFM LKDJFKLAJF;LAJ SJK FK;AJ DSJKFGNA KFJ OMGOMGOMGOMGMGOGMGOMG MOAR MOAR MOOOAARRRRRR" and it's hard to balance these feelings with any degree of objectivity.

objectivity is overrated, especially with regards to first impressions

My ability to even *can* is entirely too compromised right now. This is just truly awe-inspiring music.

Now I'm going to back off this thread before DL shouts at me for making any comments about how cute Owen's haircut is.

Sod objectivity. Sometimes visceral, emotional reaction is absolutely fine. Objectivity is a lie.

(It is a very cute haircut.)

Kidding! So excited to hear the rest of the album now.

OP is magic. Fantastic songs.

On first listening, I love the arrangement (dense but not overcrowded) on "Riverbed" (which is an amazing song in other ways as well), and I'm really excited for the full album.

OMG I love Owen for putting his Mox Jet in a video <3 <3

These new songs are very pleasing. Wish it was May 12th already!

he keeps getting better

i be going to the Glasslands show in Bklyn

Yeah, I'm enjoying these. I'm excited. I played Heartland to death.

holy fucken shit 'the riverbed' is extraordinary

'on a path' also very very good but...my word

I actually like "On a Path" a little more so far.

continually topping himself, tbh. didn't think i could be hit in the feelings more than I was by Heartland and...well, yeah.

^^this. I still play Heartland regularly, cannot wait to play In Conflict to death over the next decade or so.

I gave these links a listen on my phone this morning which was a terrible injustice. Just now I've played both on cans without the clips and yes, this is brilliant. I fear YT is squashing the sonic quality, but yeah I love both of these and I love the clips too.

It's very nice of Owen to release this just before my birthday when I have the week off to decorate and bike ride.

And go to gigs.

thanks for the new display name, Alex!

Bwahaha, A+!

Better than continually popping yourself... ;)

Holy shit @ "The Riverbed!"

I think the thing I love most about all your work Owen is how *immediate* the beautiful melodic lines are, they stick in my head right away and stay there happily. It is making me more enthusiastic than ever to keep firing up my own kboards/gear and keep writing music.

Awesome interview:

http://pitchfork.com/features/update/9358-owen-pallett/

New song and new video.

http://youtu.be/vr_SbrFIuKA

This album is sounding so good. Looks like it might have been pushed back to May 26th now.

Def my favourite of the new songs.

Yeah I love this one.

This just came up on Facebook.

The album release date for "In Conflict" has been pushed back to May 27th. This is due to a backup at the pressing plant; Record Store Day was a tall order this year. We will be selling CD and vinyl copies of the album at all May tour dates, prior to the "street date".

Agree that this is the best song of the three. Just another month to go.

all of these songs are great. i think the riverbed is my favorite although i am still a bit irritated that we never learn what happens between uncle jim and the young toughs

I am just kind of in awe of the arpeggios. It's that kind of True Faith era New Order trick, of having this gorgeous, bubbling arpeggio, but then at the top of the filter sweep, it bursts into this flourish of violins. It's like the aural equivalent of a fountain. Very lovely, I fall for it every time.

whole album is good btw lads

argh i want this album sooner

Yeah I've had a chance to hear the whole thing -- it's a beaut.

wow that's fabulosu

it mangled my spelling w/its beauty

cannot wate

Just looking into pre-ordering this. Apparently there will be a double vinyl version with three extra songs that don't appear on the regular vinyl or the CD. Think I'm going to have to go with that.

http://www.dominorecordco.us/usa/albums/05-02-14/in-conflict

it only includes 1 more song than the CD

Will be doing a piece on this, but I'm yet to hear it. Can't wait!

Did we talk about this anywhere?
https://soundcloud.com/caribouband/sets/daphni-owen-pallett

http://consequenceofsound.net/2014/05/owen-pallett-debuts-new-song-i-am-not-afraid/

The album is quite good.

Indeed.

argh i can't wait.

"infernal fantasy" is a top 2014 pop blast. preach it owen

some tix just released for tonight's Glasslands show if any of yall wanna go

Annnnd it's streaming:

http://www.npr.org/2014/05/18/312523632/first-listen-owen-pallett-in-conflict

I'm only 3 and a half minutes in and holy shit

it's under fifty minutes! fantastic. (most albums shouldn't be too long)

I'm only 3 and a half minutes in and holy shit

― chillin' on an "awesome pretzel" hoagie (DJP), Monday, 19 May 2014 13:12 (9 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

^^^^^^this

"Song For Five and Six" and "I Am Not Afraid" are my jams.

I want to listen to this SOOOO BAD but my internet is so not going to handle streaming at the moment. :(

i've had this on promo for a couple of weeks and i reckon it's going to take several more weeks at least to fully figure out. it's a great listen though!

such amazing arrangements, what a pretty album

I'm holding off on listening to this until I can run a CD through big speakers. But so tempted.

yeah this was superb, would probably put it on a par with Heartland but this one was subtler, may transpire to be even more rewarding

THIS FUCKING RULES

SO GOOD YOU GUYS IT'S SO GOOD

xp otm

Yup.

his masterpiece? it's fucking solid as hell imo

can't wait to check this out when i get home!

This album is outstanding. Have been looking forward to it for a long time and it certainly delivers. I think The Secret Seven was my immediate favourite but it's just full of highlights.

looking forward to diggin in

diggin the scene
diggin on you
diggin OP
baby baby, oh baby baby

http://www.npr.org/2014/05/18/312523632/first-listen-owen-pallett-in-conflict

Owen Pallett, a legit composer who also possesses the instincts to craft brilliant pop songs.

saw this and pictured him grimmacing

Anyone else going to the London show tomorrow?

Oh wow, thanks for all the kind words, and say hi tomorrow ShariVari I'll be pre-show nervous at the merch table

Also I don't grimace at anything really (but it does feel good when people get it right)

This is wonderful! It'll certainly be my summer album.

real excited to hear this, the last one was a favorite

Oh lord! As I get older it becomes increasingly rare that an album grips me so strongly on first listen. I'm looking forward to playing this one over and over and over and over. So many emotions I feel like I'm 15 again.

i am so sad i cant go tomorrow. this best not be the last op album/european tour.

ooh i didn't know there was a london show tomorrow. v tempting even though i'm v busy.

I can say it's totally worth it just to hear "The Riverbed" live

"the riverbed" is such a jam

Love how unexpectedly synthy the album is.

Really looking forward to tomorrow night...

Only one listen in, so need time to absorb the melodies and the (surprisingly sexual!) lyrics, but I'm blown away by just how fantastic this album sounds!

"The Riverside" is a blast in every sense

Had not been paying attention, if I was in London tomorrow I would totally go, but I don't think I can be there :(

owen, this album is great

I liked what I'd prevously heard of Owen's stuff, but J was playing this in the car and I found myself... "transfixed" is the best word I can come with. Holy moley, this is some serious shit.

(Parenthetically - Does anyone else feel like he tends to tuck his vocals into the mix quite a bit, compared to a lot of singers? I noticed, on both this and Heartland, that the voice is mixed more as one part of the arrangement, rather than being waaaaay out front as is usually the case for a lead vocal. Not complaining - just observatating.)

huh, never put the gt thing together. more you know.

haven't heard the album, but the tracks linked are uniformly gorgeous, especially, well, it's hard to say cuz each sounds like the best while i'm listening to it. and then i listen to another.

ugh, this is so good, one after another

AOTY

yeah this is scaling heights where such pronouncements become plausible

am trying to wangle myself a ticket for tonight, wd be good to see it all performed

yeah, this is wonderful. v. sad i was out of town for the boston show last weekend.

really digging soldiers rock and chorale in addition to those already mentioned.

that quasi-happy hardcore/drum'n'bass song towards the end is out of this world.

I am no longer afraid, the truth doesn't terify u-us...

Like, I didn't even know I liked that song, but then I couldn't stop humming that part, didn't even remember what it was. This is gonna creep up on me. This is very good.

logrolling a pallett

My friend is at the London show right now. So jealous. He just bought the new album there too.

When does it release?

It's out on Monday.

song for five & six is an olallieberry level jam

Holy shit that was incredible. The entire songwriting and layering process, revealed with such elegance! An orchestra of Pallett, all rousing, thrumming cavalcades of emotion. Was also lovely to meet the man himself. Overcome, really. Some of those songs won't leave my head.

Unnecessary post: this album is, of course, fabulous.

It really was a wonderful concert. Also a great pleasure to meet Owen in person. Hopefully we'll see you back in London soon.

We sadly failed to meet each other! Ah well. There will be other concerts.

Were you wearing a dark grey shirt, by any chance?

Very dark green, short sleeves, black flower pattern, could have been mistaken for grey. Far too much hair. I was looking out for you too!

Next time!

wait you wore a hair shirt

to compensate for being treated to such awesome music, probably should have

also, I think this album might just bring all of ILX together - I can't think of a single taste that would exclude it

Only disappointing thing about tonight was buying the vinyl and not being able to download the MP3s until Monday :(

Otherwise it was great!

also, I think this album might just bring all of ILX together - I can't think of a single taste that would exclude it

― verhzleyavbtreleambreb (imago)

Lex?

don't be foolish, lex will eat this shit up whole

I was going to say.

so mad i couldn't make it. i'll have to finish off everything i ever have to do before the next time he comes around.

Goon when when when are you coming back to Aus, gah! :)

almost thru my NPR-sanctioned first listen... I wasn't paying attention, did he just rhyme "Percocet" with "turtleneck"?

"The Riverbed" is way good, none of the other songs stuck with me except the one with the "compassion" refrain, but I'm sure that will change... in the meantime, I'm loving the complexity of the synth textures. should be plenty of fun headphone-fodder to keep me from getting bored once I know all the melodies by heart :)

Lex could go either way on this, depending on whether he finds it too precious/indie/art-school.

From memory he dislikes Patrick Wolf, who obv isn't a perfect fit but you could imagine similar objections being made to both.

when we reviewed owen over at TSJ back c. Heartland, Lex was... Lex-ian. "all ornamentation and no substance" etc.

but whatever who cares because you all get to hear this album now and i can stop holding back from raving about how beautiful it is.

hell I'm still not crazy about Heartland.

I relistened for the sake of a long review I filed a couple days ago, and it confirmed what I suspected after I heard "On a Path" for the first time: he's recording his best music now.

my standouts are probably 'Soldier's Rock', 'The Sky Behind the Flag', 'Song for Five & Six' and 'I Am Not Afraid'

but all "standouts" really means in this context is "things that have emerged as distinct musical things in my mind rather than part of the larger album" not a statement of quality? like, in a 'this would work as a single' way. and every track has perfect details and turns of phrase and melody and synth patches that get caught in my brain at unexpected moments.

i still love Heartland a whole lot but this has the potential to overtake it in my affections.

the live band arrangements are a wholly different beast at times and filled with violence and life and destruction. (soldier's rock, especially.)

OMG I forgot Eno sings on this as well. This is really really good on a first listen (well exept the already released tracks ive already hammered)

London show last night was lotsa fun. Hyped to get the new LP early too :-)

yeah, fantastic gig last night. Could have done with Owen's vocals a tad higher in the mix imo.

So many ILXors last night :D thanks guys for coming!

S/O to the pilled up Spanish brothers in front of me who fist pumped for the entire duration of the gig.

also to the middle aged ladies doing interpretative fan dances near the back, was loving their work :-)

listened with headphones a few times (highly recommended), and currently going through my first blasting through loudspeakers listening.

the title cut is such a jam. the verses are catchier than almost all choruses, and the minimal bass lines are killer throughout

Finally got round to listening to the vinyl version of this (treated myself to the 2xLP last week). It sounds so great. I don't normally pay too much attention to that sort of thing, but I want to play this loud (but don't think my neighbours would appreciate that at this time of night...)

So I had some quick thoughts and all:

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/in-conflict-20140527

as do I! http://www.spin.com/reviews/owen-pallett-in-conflict/

you can tell there was a lot of work done on making this look and sound amazing on the vinyl version - it's truly excellent

"The Passions" is real nice

THIS FUCKING ALBUM

i would like to echo dan's enthusiasm as i finally listened to the record while reading the lyric sheet this afternoon

essentially this album is more devastating than i even initially thought

I can't remember the last time I was so excited to hear an album with the lyric sheet in hand.

not since I heard Discreet Music.

this is great
the only recent album that it kind of reminds me of is these new puritans
just in terms of balancing indie rock songwriting and odd modern classical arrangements and composition
which i mean as a compliment! i love TNP and this is great
but if you guys don't agree i will retract my statement instead of argue

this isn't really chilly though, it's more emotional
TNP is kind of chilly like Talk Talk (in feel)

Just got my vinyl through the post. Domino did well getting it here on the day of release. It looks beautiful and is sounding fantastic. Have only listened to the NPR stream once, wanted to wait until I got my actual copy to hear it again.

the albums i associate most with it so far don't resemble it musically but maybe formally? so i get the tnp comparison. for instance, maybe because owen's been talking about tori a lot, i've been thinking of this record in conjunction with under the pink, this really expansive vision fit into these skewed pop songs. or shiina ringo's karuki samen no kuri hana which is a similar kind of interior pop with gorgeous diversions

shiina ringo comparison is crazily apt, great pick-up

solid nyt review today
i feel like this is the one that dude rides to HIPSTER STATUS and yay

And here's his fancy new site:

http://www.owenpalletteternal.com/

Apparently In Conflict is 50 minutes and 90 seconds long, lol

As I said elsewhere in strict resemblance terms the album I'm reminded of most is Coloma's Finery.

But I really feel Brad's Under The Pink comparison. "Pretty Good Year" totally fits the narrative except it's in second/third person rather than first. Also "The Riverbed" = "Cornflake Girl" / "The Passions" = "Icicle".

I'm only fairly familiar with Amos's work but for me I'm hearing a fair bit of Hounds of Love in here - especially in the way the string and orchestral arrangements meet with the synth-led stuff.

btw not that i necessarily need to compare owen's great, individual record to even more things but imo this year's analogue for this record is meshell ndegeocello's

"The Passions" is real nice

― macklin' rosie (crüt), Tuesday, May 27, 2014 12:05 PM (11 hours ago)

it's such a sad song, isn't it? I was at his Boston show, and he announced it as "a friendly reminder that death is hanging over us" or something to that effect. the lyrics aren't particularly depressing (bittersweet nostalgia + Smiths) but his delivery is so mournful that it's hard not to want to parse it for darker subtexts. it's chilling the way it glides so seamlessly from synth to string section and back again.

I wish one person would step into this thread and trash this album to dispel the appearance of sycophantism. this lovefest is really getting out of hand!

(but I think this album is great so idk)

my considered opinion:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPcLaO4ey4g

haw

it's up on spotify, yay

i mean not yay for owen's wallet i guess but yay nonetheless

Both He Poos Clouds and Heartland made my year-end top 5, though the latter felt like a considerable step up in terms of craft. On first listen, In Conflict doesn't seem significantly more impressive to me, but it's obviously still great.

Can this stupid week (the one that, for me, ends this coming Tuesday) please be over so I can just spend some real time with this record?

after playing "The Riverbed" incessantly I kind of want to go through every other album in my record collection and replace the guitar with violin

feels like it would be most transformative on Ministry-influenced industrial metal

personalized listening: heard "I Am Not Afraid" line as "I haven't had a fuck in years"

but yes seems like a tour de force on first hearing

Gah now I wont not hear it that way, thanks Morbs ;P

http://thequietus.com/articles/15386-owen-pallett-favourite-albums

I went to buy this today at the record shop where I normally get sneered at (shut UP I do not buy that many cut-price I------- albums) and the clerk took it from me and said "Great choice! EXCELLENT album!" and now I'm wondering if Owen bribed them all to say that.

wanna hear that buffy sainte-marie album

and regret not having this album twenty-some years ago, that i might write alarmingly earnest letters to the Artist

i was thinking in the back of my mind that "i am not afraid" maybe had something to do with tg

but that's also my own association with the word "discipline"

Still listening to this album a lot, still think I prefer Heartland but I've lived with that record for four years now and there aren't many things in the world I'd rather listen to.

Will never not get goosebumps at:

"Your light is spent! Your light is spent!" I cried,
As I drove the iron spike into Owen's eyes.
The sun sped cross the plains like that cinematic moment where
Humanity and nature collide.
When you think, "Everything's gonna be all right,"
Just before the hero gets a bullet in his side.

^^lol I wrote almost an exact copy of this post yesterday right down to mentioning that particular verse, but I got distracted and forgot to press submit.

But yeah agreed - I said AOTY upthread and meant it, but I'm not sure if this is better than Heartland. idk I guess I prefer the Final Fantasy side more?

Heartland is an all-time favourite for me. So far, I have not really been able to connect with this in the same way, as far as my personal taste goes. I don't dislike it by any stretch: hooks get in my head; the skills are undeniable. Maybe it's just a matter of time. The three songs that were released ahead of time are still my favourites.

Very hard to compare them as I've listened to Heartland a lot since it came out and have only played In Conflict maybe five times now. My first impressions are there is nothing on In Conflict that I love as much as Lewis Takes Off His Shirt and Tryst With Mephistopheles but overall it's more consistently enjoyable album. Love that he's totally fulfilling all that promise that he showed on the Final Fantasy albums. They're both really good albums but what he's done since has been such a huge leap in, well everything really.

Very excited that he's coming to Minnesota in September. Haven't seen him since around He Poos Clouds.

My first impressions are there is nothing on In Conflict that I love as much as Lewis Takes Off His Shirt and Tryst With Mephistopheles but overall it's more consistently enjoyable album.

Those are the exact two songs that will probably keep Heartland firmly entrenched as my favourite Owen Pallett album. But if enough of In Conflict ends up growing on me to the degree that "The Riverbed" has...

Song for five and six is what's up
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vr_SbrFIuKA

my feeling as well

it's def in my top ten
this album has me listening to he poos clouds again (which is prob still my fave full length, dunno if that's nostalgia or what but there i am)

really loving this still

kinda wish the first album wasn't titled "he poos clouds" i woulda checked it earlier

i seem to recall his comment on that was that it was meant to be a compliment, like "she's so sweet, she shits whipped cream" but yeah, we've all gotten older and wiser

p sure i only checked out the first album because of the title

p sure this was the first album
http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/_/67368688/Has+A+Good+Home+CA+HAGH.jpg

Yeah, I still really like "This Is the Dream of Win and Reg" and "That's When the Audience Died".

i love the floaty chorus of "the secret seven". and even though i think he's probably singing "watching kids turn into lovers/believers", i hold out hope that it's actually lovers/beliebers

Has a Home is all about An Arrow in the Side of Final Fantasy and The CN Tower Belongs to the Dead for me.

i think seeing final fantasy back in 2005 was what made me want to buy a loop pedal. it took me like eight years to actually get around to it.

i tried to be the sole antagonist in thread before but i can't keep it up, this album is an astonishing achievement. structurally maybe not too different from what he'd done before (and that i have no complaints about) but something about the knotting together of synths and acoustic instruments works unlike really anything else i can think of. at points it sounds like there's a modelling of the synths on the tendencies of stringed instruments, and a modelling of the stringed instruments on the tendencies of synths, and that slightly disorienting combination of sounds wheeling around each other is just perfect.

I dunno; maybe I'll be the lone dissenter. Like, I recognise this album as an astonishing achievement. But I've listened to it twice, and I don't know if I can listen to it again, because it makes me bawl like a baby every time I put it on. It's like it's too much, emotionally, and I'm too raw for this. Maybe I need to put it away for a year and come back to it when I'm in a better place emotionally, and just listen to meaningless shiny-metal-box music until then. It's an amazing album, yes, but when every single song feels like a dart aimed directly at your most vulnerable part, it can be difficult to listen to. This is probably my failing, not the album's. There's a time for catharsis and emotional vulnerability, and a time for just holding it together. I don't know that I can do this right now.

sounds like compliments of the highest order to me! :-)

i mean, if it wasn't so short it would be an emotionally difficult listen for even the most resilient person. listening to it the number of times i have, i've had to take a break cos much as it improves as a listening experience on consecutive goes, so too do the emotions get magnified and after a while i started feeling a bit traumatised.

I've listened maybe four times; nowhere near enough to take everything in yet, which is kind of how Heartland worked, too - I found myself just listening and listening over and over again, because it was musically and aesthetically just so NICE to listen to, before the emotional impact really hit home.

People get catharsis in different ways, I suppose; but this (with some exceptions; The Riverbed, perhaps) doesn't seem to have the same catharsis through emotional desperation of the Embrace record, or catharsis through voodoo repetition like the Swans record. Owen's music strokes my emotions rather than squeezing them or battering them.

One thing I wish he'd do is release more records, more often! He's SO GOOD AT MUSIC! It feels nuts that there've been 4 years each from HPC to H and from H to IC.

OP OTM

Here's my review of this record: http://thequietus.com/articles/15386-owen-pallett-favourite-albums I can honestly say I've never felt so humbled in reviewing a record as nothing I could write about it would do it fair justice. I've been in a kind of agonised turmoil since submitting my final draft a few days ago, especially in the light of several more plays and having read other people's reactions (tend to try and avoid reading others' opinions before writing, so it's interesting to hear these takes). Anyway, all in all, it's likely to be among my very favourite albums out this year.

oops, wrong link. Here it is: http://thequietus.com/articles/15353-owen-pallett-in-conflict-review

Owen's music strokes my emotions rather than squeezing them or battering them.

Maybe I need to listen some more, but I feel like the real lone dissenter here not wowed by his synthpop or his vocal style (thus I haven't really even paid much close attention to the lyrics). Maybe it's a musical thing and I should stick with Meshell Ndegeocello, Mel Waiters, Afropop and other stuff I like. But there is stuff in this genre I like more.

i'd bet money that a song off this album ends up playing over and episode of Looking's closing credits next season

or John Grant-Hercules & Love Affair

john grant was on S1!

but now he's got even funkier beats!

The production and arrangements on this are off the hook, it reminds me a bit of Homogenic-era Bjork the way the electronic and orchestral elements meld together.

After the first couple of listens... I wish I liked his voice more, because I struggle with his delivery quite a lot and that prevents me from really loving this.

OK, wow, the CD sounds MUCH better to me than the stream I was listening to previously. I'm hearing much more sonic detail. Tracks that I didn't notice before such as "Chorale" and "Sky Behind the Flag" are really standing out now.

i like this guy's writing a little bit. don't know his music. is he a corny indie fuxor? the arcade fire associations give me pause; i have no time for that kind of music.

:D

fyi i can't rly stomach the arcade fire (no offence goon tie) but this album is fucking incredible music

does brian eno's music sound like coldplay?

what is the sound of one hand clapping if you add tons of reverb?

it is 'the sound of one hand clapping' played on Todd Glass' home stereo

that was a pretty lame reference. anyway, my point is that it doesn't sound like arcade fire, and it is worth checking out if a worry of corny indie fuxorness is keeping you away.

thanks! will do!

but be warned, i'm coming back for you if it sounds anything like arcade fire. may god have mercy on your soul.

:-o

I read all this a couple days ago and felt emotionally overwhelmed, I was tipsy and surfing and I clicked it open and cried a bunch, thank you guys.

You all know what my day job is, and I am finding it increasingly more difficult to participate in occupational artistic activity that negates my own. At the very least on a time-scheduling level, but sometimes, it feels, on a deeper ideological and political level.

But I think you can see, having listened to this album, why I took so many jobbing gigs this year... I didn't think such a blazingly queer (and emotionally direct) record was gonna get my coal this time around. Hopefully I can make it work this fall, keep this "career" sustainable. The solo stuff has felt more rewarding than ever before, on an artistic level, and I thank y'all for your votes of confidence, with both your kind words and your engaged criticism.

I wish I could press a 'like' button on ILX posts.

haha, i was going to say exactly that.

For damn sure!

goony, I dunno if i agree with you on the "blazingly queer" stuff honestly... a lot of the emotional heart of this resonates deeply in the seat of my little cis hetero brain. it's been a real keeper and in heavy rotation still; it's always exciting when you find something that keeps opening up and giving listen after listen. congratulations. it's a real lasting accomplishment methinks.

(and m@tt otm about "a warmer New Puritans")

specific = universal = specific

http://devonrecordclub.com/2014/06/14/owen-pallett-in-conflict-round-68-nicks-choice/

"The way “The Riverbed” sets the tension level at ‘breaking point’ from the moment it begins and somehow manages to maintain that remarkable pitch throughout its entire length without shattering into a billion pieces or exploding into bombast"

otm

the title track has my favourite bass line of the year, so tight with the drums.

I picked up He Poos Clouds a few years ago and probably wasn't in the right place to get it - it struck me as impressive and well-conceived but not something to go back to. All the chatter on this thread made me try HPC once more, and now I keep going back to it. I listened to In Conflict for the first time last night - even more ambitious, wider palette of sound, I already think I will like it more than HPC. "The Riverbed" made the biggest impact on me on first listen.

His solo music hasn't come across my radar since undergrad, when I heard "This Is the Dream of Win and Regine". I love that song for its chorus-less journey through some very catchy phrases and great musical ideas. But the journey has some repetition, and the electronic stuff throughout tends to give the song one feel (which isn't a bad thing, I love the song). In the new album, all of these phrases and ideas seem to evolve throughout each song in a very beautiful way. The slight changes made to the melody or timing of repeated phrases are so catchy and engaging. The synth sounds and arrangements are also more varied and effective. I find myself repeating the first 4 tracks over and over just because so much is already in there.

You stand in a city
That you don't know anymore

Gets me every time

oh hey, i keep meaning to ask if an owen has ever read the obscure cities because i think of those books every time i hear that line
http://www.theobscurecities.com/home/

it's fun to listen to the live youtubes posted on the fansite because the arrangements are necessarily different. before one of the 'song for five and six' versions, he mentions that this album is not so 'loopy'. I guess that's all I meant with my post. it's not so loopy, and I really like that.

It has taken me quite some time to fully take in the multi-dimensional immensity that is this album. I shied away from reading this thread, too, knowing I would eventually come by here to share my thoughts, regardless. 'In Conflict', I feel, is a near perfect* album, a rare, all-encompassing monolith that is there with me always, looking at me, reflecting on me.

I've seen some people up here try to compare it to Heartland. Whether In Conflict ranks higher or lower. I did this at first, but it is such a futile attempt, for they truly are apples and oranges. Where Heartland, in all its beautiful glory, is a mythical tale, something to gaze at in amazement, yet from afar, as something outside of both the narrator and the creator, ’In Conflict’ is almost its diametrical opposite. It is so close, so personal, too much at times. And that is so very tricky, which is why it's even more amazing that Owen pulls it off. Narrates you into this highly personal world and makes you feel at home, too.

There is no denying that some of ’In Conflict’'s themes especially hit home so hard because I find myself dabbling with similar situations and questions, phase of life-wise. Being around the same age helps, too. I wouldn't dare call the tales of ’In Conflict’ autobiographical (as pointed out by Owen in an interview I read, and I understand why), but highly personal? Hell yes. And relatable. Not just in a ’I can see that’ kind of way, but in an ’omg yes - *cries*' kind of way.

The children theme hits home hard. I know not of another piece of music that goes through desire, grief and acceptance as emphatic and uplifting as the opener on this album.
I keep thinking of Moloch, the god of propitiatory child sacrifice, too. Referring to sacrificing something of the highest known value - a child (or ’children’), yet being offered a supreme sense of solace and acceptance for that.

I suppose that is it: hope. There is so much hope on this album, such gracious, relentless kindness, that it takes you a while to realize it really is this sincere and bare, that you aren't being fooled. The display of intimacy and honesty is just immense.

I’ll refrain from singling out songs, specific melodies, or quotes; there are so many that already are latched onto my soul for either very important reasons or no reason at all. As a whole though, this album is everything I could wish for and so much more. Compared to Heartland, it is so much more mature because it is so much more bare, inescapably honest. Both in sound, composition and lyrical themes.

I could not wish for a more beautiful new Owen Pallett album. Owen, if you are reading this, thank you so, so much. Your new album hasn't changed my life; rather has it made a whole lot of things more clear and more bearable and injected with a before severely lacking amount of hope and kindness, and done in such an immensely beautiful way, with such amazingly beautiful music. It's just two stupid words, but believe: thank you. This album has conquered my heart in so many ways already, and it's not nearly done conquering more of me.

* there is one single thing that bugs the shit out of me: those two dull chord punches at the very end, I just do not get them! For someone who so meticulously composes his music, this can't be an incident, it is planned. Yet they throw me off every single time, it feel so off, so confusing. If confusion was intended, I will gladly accept that: I have no problem being thrown off my balance beam for the sake of a shake up or confusion. But please let it not be dreaded randomness.

do all formats end that way, even though they have different closing tracks? I'd guess that it wasn't random.

Xpost, beautiful post LBI

Yeah that's a great post that sums up many of my feelings about the album so far, LBI. There's not just little phrases that strike me as I can relate (I think I'm close to Owen's age/circumstances), but little details in the instrumentation or Owen's delivery that somehow hit those same feelings. The musical version of relating to something, maybe. Almost through my third listen now and I just want to keep listening. Shame Owen's not coming to my city anytime soon because I am very curious how these songs translate to the stage.

Yes, lovely post LBI.

Thanks guys. It was just scratching the surface, not even found the right words for the compositions themselves. A mighty album.

Oh and DL, I thought you wrote a magnificent review for tQ, seeing how very hard it is to 'approach' this album in writing.

FYI fgti, every time I listen to "The Riverbed" my face melts a little more; please keep an eye out for the invoice for my medical bills

Has anyone called / texted / faxed / googled / whatever the phone number he sings, yet? I know it's short, with no area code, but does it do anything?

JESUS CHRIST YOU POSTED THAT LITERALLY 49 SECONDS BEFORE I DID

Question: has anyone tried dialling the number on The Secret Seven yet?

(Not that I think Owen has set up some secret ~Paul's Boutique~ ansaphone hijinx, but, you never know. I'm not dialling long distance to Canada to find out, though.)

I mean, I know there's an ILX hivemind sometimes but that is freaky.

Psych!

Is In Conflict going to win the end of year albums poll on here? I can kind of see it happening now.

Seeing Arcade Fire tonight. I did not even know until yesterday that Owen Pallett is opening. Talk about a pleasant surprise! This turned a 'yeah, that should be fun' show into something much more. I hope they have the 2-disc vinyl at merch.

Great show! And that includes arcade fire. I don't know what label fuckery keeps In Conflict out of the merch table, but fuck it I'll buy it online.

Also, goddamn this Santa Barbara noise ordinance. I'd rather hear Styxx's show from my bedroom at midnight and be able to see a show I'm actually interested in at an irresponsible Monday hour.

Wonderful show on Friday in Minnesota. One of the highlights was when Owen asked for any requests and someone suggested The CN Tower Belongs to the Dead. It was a lovely moment seeing him doing the first song I ever heard by him, almost 10 years ago now.

yeah I tried yelling "Heartbreaker" by Mariah Carey during that part and he didn't fuckin' play it, what a shithead

I did this email exchange with Owen when the album came out for Hazlitt, it's finally online:

http://penguinrandomhouse.ca/hazlitt/feature/black-notes-owen-pallett

that was great, thanks.

that piece makes me wanna get drunk with dude

^^ totally. Thanks for sharing that.

Just got tickets for the Ottawa show on this coming weekend. Excited!

Way too late to this album but it's astounding - top 5 for me this year. Hivemind OTM.

top 2 or 3 depending on whether I want both Jute Gytes in there haha

xp sell your tickets, it is such a snooze fest esp with that live band

:O

lol this is an in-joke right

PRIMUS SUCKS etc

No way; I saw a photo taken from backstage once and he's not even actually playing music, he's just playing DOOM on his violin while he plays a WAV file

lol

tbrr though I had the priv of seeing him twice (twice!!) this year and it was v magnificent, like unexpectedly so, I mean you know it's gonna be *good* and stuff but

I am bummed I could not see the LA date, but such is life.

"pooen poollett"

5 results (0.33 seconds)
Did you mean: poon ballet

well *someone's* got a new DN waiting for them

i saw him in chicago he was lovely & enchanting

Video:
https://www.nowness.com/story/owen-pallett-in-conflict

Dunno if it's the cold weather but I'm really starting to appreciate this now. 'Chorale' is gorgeous.

i mean like it's year end lists so you're a herb by definintion for even complaining but it is kind of bumming me out some of the really mediocre albums that are getting high placement on lists over this

yep. it's blates among the very best of the year, any way you look at it. and it seems to get better and better with each listen too.. maybe the latter is a possible reason it's not seeing as much end of year action as other stuff which is good on first listen but nothing much to return to.

46th best-reviewed album of the year according to AOTY

http://www.albumoftheyear.org/album/13445-owen-pallett-in-conflict.php

The fastest way that I can know a EOY list is useless at a quick glance is if it does not contain In Conflict but does contain the new Jack White.

^^ This. Or that dull as ditch water Beck album.

What if I told you Jack White played a major part in the production of In Conflict?

xpost

You can substitute Beck for White, sure--I'm picking on Lazaretto because a) I've heard it, and b) i liked White's last record, meaning that the inclusion of this horrible one on so many lists feels lazy to me. I'm sure the Beck album benefits from a similar "we can't *not* include this" mentality among Rolling Stone types, though.

"I'm sure the Beck album benefits from a similar 'we can't *not* include this' mentality among Rolling Stone types, though."

This is why I mentioned in the EOY list thread that I was surprised the indie types weren't doing the same with that Spoon record.

Not to derail this thread though...

Given't a shit about year-end lists when I get to play Queen Elizabeth Hall with my cool band and a sextet

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ndk2akCdpE

man i gotta see you live

pssst
http://www.musichallofwilliamsburg.com/event/715623-owen-pallett-brooklyn/

thanking you

missed yr show for a difft gig m8, hope this is forgivable. looks mighty, altho the not-really stripped-down loops + violin model I did see earlier this year was phenomenal too

Inneresting:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tO7NDX2oH44

wait before I watch that is it Tori Amos?

Tori Amos doesn't have a beard.

Damn damn damn I searched a listings website for any forthcoming London gigs a couple of months ago but this didn't come up.

srsly how many ppl are going to this show in Brooklyn on 1/29? Because from people I've talked to it seems like it's at least 45 or 50.

I am. Still need to buy tix but i hate paying the advance "service charge". Gonna hate myself if it's sold tho'.
Stevie D we should meet up.

Man. I wish I had seen him in Chicago. Saw him on the last tour at Lincoln Hall and thought he was fantastic and then ... eh, I just didn't get around to it.

should probably go to this show bc i don't have a complete memory of the last time i saw him (i blacked out and spent the majority of the show making out)

Dude I thought you were already going! YOU HAD BETTER GO

Hour-long interview with Owen: http://vishkhanna.com/2015/01/09/ep-156-owen-pallett/

Brooklyn tnite, still tix last i checked. see you, Stevie. forks?

I will be there prob w/ a posse!!

yeah, there for sure! ZS coming out too.

cool...

i thought posses were passe ;)

best of the 3 OP shows i've seen! Thanks to some of my fave ilxors for showing up.

that show was crazy good

OP, return to Miami and play.

Very good times and good people.

for real - nice to see you all!

Yeah that was rly, rly good

Thanks for coming, guys, thanks for the mug forks. Sorry if I was cloudy-eyed I was in need of a nap.

Jealous of y'all. But happily so!

you were not cloudy eyed dude, you were just off the stage from over two hours of performance. glad you dug the cup, may it bring you good drinks.

Brad!

http://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2015/feb/04/owen-pallett-the-complexity-of-pop

it is literally a miracle that that piece went up, i'm going to recede into a cave for 100000 years now

we will hunt you down at some gig someday, BN (j/k, probly).

lol i would've hung out but i was on a date

good piece Brad!

I noticed that OP has lots of bears, in pairs, in his audience.

also saw a guy stroking his bf's hair, and they looked alike! is that a thing now?

don't bears date their own?

the twins were dark and slim nonbears

saw a lot of repeat types from Taylor Mac earlier that week.

morbs i hope i don't blow your mind with this

http://boyfriendtwin.tumblr.com

http://www.npr.org/blogs/world-cafe/2015/02/17/386961437/owen-pallett-on-world-cafe

sounds great

!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=radgfxRD-NY

God willing, I'm seeing this plucky young Canadian tonight!

DM me if you need guestlist!

Just did so - THANKS!

out of the us after this for the rest of the year, eh? bummer, but bon chance.

"The Phone Call" is lovely

ya, I never expected a Kraftwerk cover from OP but it's rly great

mmmm those dissonances

listened to this again today. still as amazing as i remember. love the falsetto in the chorus so much.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vr_SbrFIuKA

like, is that a good song or is that a good song

different album but stoked to see this ~

http://thequietus.com/articles/20034-brian-eno-favourite-records-interview?page=12

He's scoring an upcoming HBO documentary I worked on. Excited to hear it.

cried on the train while listening to this record last week. i was sick which occasions a lot of public crying but still

Ugh, Song for Five & Six. Grateful I'm the only one in the office today and that my coworker keeps a box of kleenex on her desk.

am growing impatient for thee mighty lp5!

It's coming along really crazily well, to be honest. The few people I've been keeping in the loop on it have been liberal with their superlatives. It is really just a week or so away from being done but it won't be out until Q1 2018.

I'm gonna remix and remaster Has A Good Home so that it's something I can bear to listen to, and remaster He Poos Clouds also, and re-release both with b-sides and stuff, hopefully within the next year or so. Also I have a couple of OSTs (M Blash's "The Wait" and Anton Corbijn's "Life") that I'm gonna have out soon, they are both acceptably listenable music objects. The soundtrack to "Life" especially is really nice I think

New album is called Island by the way and it's a narrative sequel to Heartland, there is a song called "Lewis Gets Fucked Into Space", it's got Abbey Road strings and Greg Fox is on it also

I approve of all of this, not that you need my approval.

yaaaaaaay

lewis gets fucked into space!!!!!

Looking forward to all this!

Absolutely yes!

"Lewis Gets Fucked Into Space"

Holy shit, this is gonna be awesome.

really looking forward to this, the performance of Lewis Gets Fucked Into Space that was posted on facebook quite a while ago was really nice

"Lewis Gets Fucked Into Space

Holy fuck yes!

Your albums have consistently marked huge occasions in my life so far. Every single one a soundtrack to a massive turning point: scales flipping, stones turned, truths unearthed. It's like your music and I are growing up together. Which is so odd, on first thought. But it feels so intimate, intrinsically, even though I don't even know you apart from some messages on this board. I don't know you but the distance leaves enough space to fill in the gaps, grants me leverage and allows me to entice, seduce, and also be removed from people I cherish dearly. I made love to 'Heartland' several times, and did so too to 'In Conflict', though that was when it ended between us. And that's ok; it had to end. End 'In Conflict' was the perfect soundtrack yet again.
It is your music that bridges distances between me and people who I play your music to, people who would never ever hear your music otherwise but through me, people I have left behind in my life now yet know they will occasionally play you and think of me, of our brief yet heated and memorable encounters. Your music does this. Think about how strong and powerful that is.

So whenever it is when the new album drops, I can only look forward to it soundtracking and accompanying me further along the as of yet unknown road. Up yours <3

ahhhh can't wait!!

fuck me into spaaaaaaaa a a a aa a a aaa a-aa-aaaaa-aaace

lewis. gets. fucked. into. space.

into it

Getting me hyped for this, Owen.

Yeah this is going to rule. Greg Fox too! Holy shit

Great great news.

Thanks guys. The record is wholly acoustic, no electric instruments, no synths, no effects except a plate reverb here and there.

Greg recorded three tracks. I only kept one for the album. Another one that I ended up cutting off the album, it was sounding like Nightwish with blast beats, it wasn't fitting the album at all, but I recorded the expensive strings for it anyway and did think at least once "man LJ is gonna love this one"

:D

I'll wait for the outtakes and rarities comp, would imagine you've got a decent one in store!

Fully acoustic is intriguing as well. Roll on next year...

Stoked!

it's all happening!!! excited as shit, and for remixes/remasters too.

Ilx pre-covers one of our own is on the cards ;)

well, fuck me into space!! 2018 looks better all the time

I am beyond excited for this one. I actually revisited In Conflict last month, playing it a lot, and it only made me more hungry for new Owen stuff.

owen produced this, and plays on one of the songs, "self-help": https://tomberlin.bandcamp.com/album/at-weddings-2

self-help is my favorite after one listen but it's all really good. i'm bad at musical references but it's generally acoustic, sometimes reverbed out, sometimes like grouper but not always.

i love owen p so much

i enjoy the empty space in "february", too

someone i almost married
is doing that this month
and i'm ignoring my reading and living like a ghost

Thanks for the heads up, this is very good.

"i am not afraid" is my theme song this week. what a good album.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfjtI_72VmQ

just discovered that a recording of Songs From An Island from March last year was uploaded in October. loving this and excited for whenever the album emerges

I wish someone out there would tell us when the heck this is coming out!!

I heard a rumour about next January but the source was pretty sketchy

Maybe your source was me, but if not, lemme corroborate. :) At least it's what Owen said after the concert in Calgary. I guess the current state is pre-release PR planning and the like. To say I'm hyped is an understatement. The new material has a real strong emotional charge to it, that's for sure.

I wonder if this is a way one could find out

Wondering the very same... Stoked though obv.

hadn't seen this show from 2015 online before - with band guys matt and rob + extra strings

would help to post the video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbDJylzAFuA

just watched this a couple of weeks ago. daaaaaaaaaaaaamn

<3 <3

I've been absolutely stanning the emerging Westerman this year, so how come this lovely bastard of an album slipped through my net four and a half years ago!?

On A Path, oh my days, oh my days. <3

I've just been listening to this again this morning for the first time in ages and it's hit me like a ton of bricks. My god, The Riverbed :(((((

Also everything i've heard of Westerman so far I've loved, especially Confirmation.

Any news of Island?

got a good pair of headphones for really cheap, fanciest pair i've owned and a small desktop DAC/headphone amp....anyway this is such an amazing fucking *recording* just stunning sounding

like it's not square enough to get there but it should totally be one of those records that audiophiles use to test systems

When I taught recording and engineering, I used "The Riverbed" for frequency-recognition ear training practice and tests.