Highly Recommended

Owen Pallett - Heartland

(2010 / Domino)
indie pop / chamber pop

Returning for a third solo album, Owen Pallett ditches the Final Fantasy moniker in favour of his own, less copyright-breaching moniker. Given that Heartland is his first work to be released in Japan, the name change was a measure to avoid any contention with the company behind the video game series of the same name. The essence of Pallett's music remains in place however, and the name change doesn't signify any sort of departure from his preoccupation with ornately realised violin-driven song-scaping. Since his last solo album, 2006's He Poos Clouds, Pallett has been seen touting his services as a string arranger, working on records from Grizzly Bear, The Last Shadow Puppets, Beirut and most famously, fellow Canadians, Arcade Fire. (boomkat)

My Rating: 7,5/10