Wooden Arms

Patrick Watson | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 5, 2009)
• Original Release Date: 2009
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: SECRET CITY RECORDS
• ASIN: B001URRHTO
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #22,715 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #43 in Music > Alternative Rock > Indie & Lo-Fi > Chamber Pop

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Exquisite and thrilling ... Wow." --San Fransisco Chronicle

" a beguiling, bewitching treat, like absinthe-laced gumdrops: part rickety graveyard waltz, part hand-overheart chamber pop, part avante garde piano theater." --Entertainment Weekly

"jaw-dropping depth and invention ... Wooden Arms is up there with the best in cracked-mirror pop music. It's out there -- almost defiantly so at times -- yet it makes such a lustrously tuneful bid for the fringes that any mainstream curiosity has no choice but to follow." [3.5 stars out of 4] --Toronto Star

Product Description

Wooden Arms is Patrick Watson s highly anticipated follow-up to the critically acclaimed Close to Paradise, which vaulted the man and his band to international stardom in 2007. The Montreal band toured non-stop for two years following initial Canadian release of Close to Paradise in 2006, and in many ways Wooden Arms is the story and sound of a band waking up in strange places all around the world.

Whether it s the bicycle-city sound of Beijing, or the warmth of a hole in the wall in sweet New Orleans on Big Bird in a Small Cage, or the haunting European waltz of the title track, you can t help but feel in listening to Wooden Arms like you re on the road with the band.

Close to Paradise won Canada s prestigious Polaris Prize in 2007, turning more than a few heads in beating out offerings from Arcade Fire and Feist, among others. By the time it saw release in the United States, Europe and Japan, the band was flying all over the world, garnering rave reviews for the album and their blistering live show alike.

When the dust had settled the band had written enough songs on the road to lay down a new record in a few short months at the end of 2008 in Montreal. On the album s opener,
Fireweed, Watson sings, So we dug ourselves a hole, and planted all our skin; like a seed in the ground, to grow again. And you can hear stripped down rejuvenation all over Wooden Arms; Watson s voice and orchestrations shine brighter against a rhythmic percussive foundation that has been brought to the forefront.

But Wooden Arms isn t just the sound of a band learning how to build a slicker wall of sound together. The playful album closer Machinery of the Heavens is almost a full on swing-tune; Big Bird in a Small Cage proves they re capable of producing a perfect country-pop song, and fans of The Great Escape from Close to Paradise will have a hard-time resisting the heart-wrenching just-voice-and-guitar of Man of Like You.

Perhaps most importantly though, Wooden Arms showcases both Watson and his bandmates as genuine composers, and the serious musicians that they are from the orchestral pull of Tracy s Waters, to Simon Angell s noise-twang on Traveling Salesman to drummer Robbie Kuster s jaw-dropping performances and his string piece Hommage, to the anchor of Mishka Stein s bass on the instrumental freak-out number, Down at the Beach.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect, May 5, 2009

By 

Catherine A. Balzer - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wooden Arms (Audio CD)

Patrick Watson has really grown over the past few records and it is immediately apparent in this album.

There are still the haunting and magical piano lines and there seems to be more focus then the previous album Close To Paradise. Bass,Piano,Banjo,Drums,Bells,Violin, and many more are the instruments mold perfectly to Patrick's melodies.

Overall this is easily one of Patrick Watsons finest albums and possibly one of the finest albums of 09.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Artist to Watch, September 26, 2009

By 

KA "BearMan" (NYC Metro) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wooden Arms (MP3 Download)

Not that I would know anything about it, it must be hard to be in a band these days given how many are trying to be heard. It ain't 1980 any more for sure.

I personally think that music overall is in a transitional period so it will be interesting to see what happens. I am not convinced that the "album" format is entirely relevant these days but there are many a band who still employ its form and thank the stars that Patrick Watson does.

I think he understands the pace of an album. This is an album that has drama, texture and depth to it. It has expanse and intimacy all at the same time.

It's an album I come back to time and time again since its release and therefore have recommended it to many a friend.

It's a superb album.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exceptional, June 10, 2009

By 

Noah E (Minnesota) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Wooden Arms (Audio CD)

Wooden Arms is a great album, I'd definitely recommend it. I have to admit I enjoyed Close to Paradise a little more because of the vibe that it gave off. Wooden Arms is fairly similar, but different enough to avoid being repetitive. Watson is amazing