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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Trent Reznor Brought Up in the English Countryside, April 10, 2005
On his debut Lycanthropy, the very young Patrick Wolf was the literal kid in the candy shop. You can hear his delight in trying absolutely everything. But that sugar rush of ideas also caused a musical form of attention deficit disorder - the disc, effective from track to track, lacked focus. Wind in the Wires sidesteps the dreaded sophomore slump because Wolf - all of 21 now - has polished his composing talents to a high sheen. His electro-folk has precedents in everything from English madrigal to goth to Conor Oberst; his voice traces of Jeff Buckley and David Sylvain. Yet he's an original. Imagine Trent Reznor brought up in the British countryside, haunted by rainy day ghost stories instead of 21st century atrocities. Not that Wolf is stuck in another time. Far from it. His songs layer dark electronics over traditional structures that are subsequently comforting and alienating. They get under your skin. And though his subject matter often seems culled from the front pages of the London Herald circa 1880, there's certainly a post-modern slant to "Lands End", about the travesty of the music press, and "The Libertine", which I'd bet money is about - or at least inspired by - Pete Doherty.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wind In the Wires = Music To My Ears, April 15, 2005
Wow. How could you not admire someone like Patrick Wolf, who's not afraid to make music that is entirely his own, that embraces multiple genres without fitting into any of them? A good way to describe it maybe is: Take the uncoventional music of Radiohead, Sigur Ros, and Bjork, and toss them in a blender. Then add a whole lot of traditional Northern European instruments like viola, violin, and accordian. Then add passionate vocals that are akin to a male Bjork with a heavy English accent. What you get is something not quite folk, not quite pop, not quite electronica, but something entirely unique and mostly beautiful. His subject matter ranges from the supernatural to nature to heart-wrenching personal accounts. On the whole, I think I like this album a bit better than the first. It flows better and, unlike the first album, doesn't have any tracks that are...well...tough to listen to, such as the revealing, disturbing, hard-on-the-ears "Childcatcher" (in which I greatly respected his bravery and bluntness). "To the Lighthouse," from the first album, probably remains my favorite track of his (since it's the track that first hooked me), but "The Libertine" and the beat-driven "Tristan" blow me away and are definitely close behind. If you like traditional European folk music, unconventional pop, or heartfelt music that is completely unique, check this guy out. He deserves more attention.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great!, April 3, 2006
Simply amazing album. I happened to stumble upon this cd and fell in love. It's the kind of music I've been looking for, interesting music with soul. The songs are absolutely haunting, but in a good way. Not everyone's thing, I understand, but definitely worth a listen.
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