Patrick Watson - Adventures In Your Own Backyard

When you ask an artist how their records are best enjoyed, they often have a very specific idea. Some prefer the thought of you alone, engulfed in a huge pair of headphones, perhaps buried under a stack of papers, to others, chatting quietly with a small group of friends, and then, of course, there are those for whom the only possible option is a darkened room, strobe lights optional, where the listeners are probably engaging in the swapping of one or more body fluids. But for Patrick Watson’s latest LP, a record whose narrative is entirely based around being at home, the best place to listen is on a journey.

An album that’s full of the wear and tear of countless tours, it’s a reaction to not wanting to be anywhere but home, and the shear relief you feel when you get there. Imagine those 14 hour days you had to do last month, now times that by two years, add a piano, some ethereal vocals and a string section and you’ll probably be pretty close to what this sounds like.

Recorded entirely in Watson’s apartment, ‘Adventures In Your Own Backyard’ is dramatic. Melancholic and joyful, it’s both soft and harsh, but more impressive than any contradiction is the gorgeous use of timbre that takes over from the word go. A wonderfully simple, elegantly performed album that puts the importance of texture into perspective.