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4.0 out of 5 stars
To live, to love in the major key, May 16 2007
I admit it openly -- after hearing that Patrick Wolf was going poppy, I was prepared to hate "The Magic Position." I really was.
But I can't. Instead, his third album managed to sweep me away with his colourful chamberpop, and ever-changing palette of musical sounds. In fact, he masters most varieties of pop -- bluesy, peppy, soothing strings, and even some electropop -- and weave them into some accomplished melodies.
It opens with some taut drums, and a slowly rising violin leads in a sweep of strings, guitar and electronica. Wolf croons over it, "It's wonderful what a smile can hide/If the teeth shine bright and it's nice and wide/It's so magical all you can keep inside/And if you bury it deep no one can find a thing, no..." He follows it with the xylophone-churchbell-violinpop of the title song, a bouncy love song that is so infectious and joyful, it deserves to be on the radio.
But having hooked listeners with those two songs, he sallies out into all sorts of music -- dark electropop with horns, bluesy ballads, passionate piano pop, happy robot dance music, and a strong piano-strings ballad, "Magpie," a duet with the smoky-voiced Marianne Faithfull. And the album ends as it began -- with a twinkly, joyous little song, and a bittersweet string outro.
If I had to compare Patrick Wolf in this album, it would be to call him a male version of Feist -- talented vocalist and songwriter, musically versatile, and poppy without being a slave to the MTV sound. "The Magic Position" shows that off beautifully, albeit with a few dark spots that could have been left out.
The music is one of those rare blends of fun catchiness and clever musicianship -- mostly because Wolf crams it with adept musicianship. Aside from the basic guitar, he weaves in instruments like the weeping violin, accordion, ukelele, piano, drums and harp, as well as stuff like the colorful blips from an autoharp, horns, tinkly little bells, and the kitchen sink.
The results can be lushly effusive pop, sweeping ballads, or a spare ballad woven from flickers of piano and strings. It could have used a tiny bit of trimming, though -- "Kiss" sounds like a violin tuneup, and "Secret Garden" is an awkward mishmash of various sounds. However, they're the only real weak spots on this album.
Wolf's voice is as pleasant as his music -- smooth, strong, and able to convey fun and joy as easily as yearning and love. And his songs are pretty passionate stuff, whether it's the childlike joy of seeing the stars ("Mama, I saw the stars tonight/Orion, the plow, are burning bright"), or a painful confession to a lover ("And that's why, love, you shouldn't stay/Still you will and love me...").
Patrick Wolf goes pop in "Magic Position," but doesn't sacrifice any of his talents. A few songs could have been snipped, but you can forget about those in the shadow of his lovely ballads and dancy pop tunes.
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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
the magic position, Jan 18 2008
Shaking off the brooding insularity that clouded his previous records, Patrick Wolf goes upbeat, taking theatrical cues from Kate Bush, Antony, and Current 93 while finally overcoming his tendency toward sullen, adolescent introspection. But what stands out most is the songs themselves: The Magic Position's soaring, staccato pop anthems, virtuosic ballads, and mystical interludes combine to form a cohesive, almost conceptual whole that shows an entirely new side of Wolf: one that finally puts his impeccable pop songcraft ahead of self-absorbed melodrama.
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