Final Fantasy + Beirut = Yippee
If the new Final Fantasy album sounds like this song, I may have a new all-time favourite record.
Pardon my use of hyperbole (once again), but the first single from Owen Pallett’s new EP is jaw-droppingly gorgeous. Once you take a look at it’s construction, however, it should be no surprise.
Press material for the Spectrum, 14th Century EP goes into great detail about the origins of the album, recorded while he was arranging and performing string parts on Beirut’s the Flying Club Cup. For those unfamiliar with that band, it’s basically a pocket orchestra boasting a plethora of different instrumentation (see our previous post on the live, Take Away Shows-produced version of standout track “Nantes” for a taste of what Beirut is capable of).
Why do I think this collaboration is so great? Well for starters, the heart of this song’s musical bed consists of the band’s brass players going, as Pallet put it in a piece on Stereogum recently, “choral for a bit.” That’s all well and good, but after sonically limiting his last album to piano and string quartet, I find the expanded musical pallet (pardon the pun) to be quite refreshing. Don’t get me wrong; I like his previous work, but I haven’t raved about it. As I felt the case was with Beirut’s latest album, I think the full breadth of what Pallett is capable of hasn’t yet come across in a studio recording.
But this song musically meshes so well with Pallett’s voice (which is sounding stronger than ever) I can hardly stand it. Add a typically lovely string arrangement and one of the oddest, creepiest animated videos I’ve seen since “Paranoid Android” and you’ve hooked me. Awesome.
Technically the Spectrum, 14th Century and it’s sister EP, Plays To Please are out, but I’ll be damned if I can find any place to purchase the vinyl for them. Vinyl for both and the CD release of Spectrum is being handled by Blocks Recording Club and Pays To Please’s CD release is available from Slender Means Society.
