Heartland
After several releases as Final Fantasy, Owen Pallett makes his debut under his own name, and it's his grandest and most assured statement to date.
Canadian violinist Owen Pallett—he used to perform as Final Fantasy until a copyright-related name-change late last year—has a reputation for compositional prowess. He’s arranged albums for Beirut and Arcade Fire, worked with Pet Shop Boys, and on Heartland, his third solo album and first full-length since 2006’s He…
Toronto-based singer/songwriter/composer/violinist Owen Pallett’s Final Fantasy project officially ended its public affair with the beloved Japanese video game of the same name (he has promised to release subsequent albums under his legal name) with Heartland, a 12-song conceptual piece concerning “a young, ultra-violent farmer named Lewis set in the imaginary landscape of Spectrum.”
With two albums under his belt (as Final Fantasy), Owen Pallett’s ‘Heartland’ is definitely a step into the weird and magical.
“This place is a narrative mess”, Owen Pallett warns us early on in the proceedings of Heartland, his seemingly forever-in-the-works third full-length...
<p>This is the pop Brian Wilson might have made, had he grown up infatuated with Sondheim rather than the Four Freshmen, writes <strong>Michael Hann</strong></p>
Owen Pallett - Heartland review: Owen Pallett drops the Final Fantasy moniker and returns more confident, more ambitious and with his best album yet.