Heartland (Owen Pallett album)

Heartland is the third full-length album by Canadian indie rock artist Owen Pallett, released January 12, 2010 on Domino Records. It's the first of Pallett's records to be released under his own name. Since the album was his first to be released in Japan, he wished to avoid generating confusion with the Final Fantasy video games from Square Enix, and to avoid infringing on any trademarks. Pallett stated that his previous albums will be repackaged and reissued under his own name at some point.[1]

Heartland
Studio album by
Owen Pallett
ReleasedJanuary 12, 2010 (2010-01-12)
Recorded2009, The Greenhouse, Reykjavík (except tracks 3 and 12)
GenreBaroque pop
Length46:40
LabelDomino
ProducerOwen Pallett
Owen Pallett chronology
Plays to Please
(2008)		 Heartland
(2010)		 A Swedish Love Story
(2010)
Singles from Heartland
  1. "Lewis Takes Action"
    Released: January 2010
  2. "Lewis Takes Off His Shirt"
    Released: March 29, 2010

The record was mixed by New York producer Rusty Santos.[2]

The album was a shortlisted nominee for the 2010 Polaris Music Prize.[3]

Concept and development

As a prelude to the album, Pallett recorded an EP, Spectrum, 14th Century. Both the EP and the subsequent full-length are set in an imaginary realm called Spectrum.[4] The songs on Heartland form a narrative concerning a "young, ultra-violent farmer" named Lewis, commanded by an all-powerful narrator—named Owen. According to Pallett, the songs are one-sided dialogues with Lewis speaking to his creator.[5]

In an interview, Pallett commented that the idea behind Heartland is "preposterous. I wanted to have this contained narrative that has the breadth of a Paul Auster short story." Michael Barclay of Maclean's states that the lyrics raise all sorts of theological questions about believers' relationship with a deity and the nature of fate, but the construct is just a blank canvas. Pallett said, "Really, it's just all about me. All records are about their singer. I was trying to play with that."[6]

Pallett has noted that the album was "most inspired" by British electronic band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark.[7]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.6/10[8]
Metacritic76/100[9]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[10]
The A.V. ClubA−[11]
Consequence of Sound[12]
The Guardian[13]
NME7/10[14]
Pitchfork8.6/10[15]
Q[16]
Slant Magazine[17]
The Sunday Times[18]
Uncut[19]

The album received positive reviews. At 2010 year end, Heartland received Exclaim!'s No. 5 spot for best Pop & Rock Albums. Exclaim! writer Andrea Warner said Heartland's themes of anger, isolation and loneliness resonate, and the sonic nods to '70s disco and pop prove ridiculously catchy, bordering on radio-friendly."[20]

Track listing
  1. "Midnight Directives" - 3:36
  2. "Keep the Dog Quiet" - 3:10
  3. "Mount Alpentine" - 0:49
  4. "Red Sun No. 5" - 3:41
  5. "Lewis Takes Action" - 2:54
  6. "The Great Elsewhere" - 5:50
  7. "Oh Heartland, Up Yours!" - 4:07
  8. "Lewis Takes Off His Shirt" - 5:08
  9. "Flare Gun" - 2:21
  10. "E Is for Estranged" - 5:25
  11. "Tryst with Mephistopheles" - 6:53
  12. "What Do You Think Will Happen Now?" - 2:38

Japanese edition bonus tracks
  1. "Midnight Directives" (Max Tundra remix) - 2:51
  2. "Keep the Dog Quiet" (Simon Bookish remix) - 5:26

Singles

The first single off the album was "Lewis Takes Action". It was released in January 2010 in a limited edition on 7" vinyl and includes one exclusive b-side called "A Watery Day".[21] The second single, "Lewis Takes Off His Shirt", was released digitally on March 29, 2010.[22] The music video for the song was directed by M. Blash, and it features the film and stage actress Alison Pill.[23] "Lewis Takes Off His Shirt" was released on 12" vinyl on June 22, 2010. The single includes remixes by Dan Deacon, Benoît Pioulard, CFCF, Simon Bookish and Max Tundra.[24]

Personnel

References
  1. Dombal, Ryan (December 18, 2009). "Final Fantasy Changes Name". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 29, 2013.
  2. Domino Records Artists: Owen Pallett
  3. Thompson, Ciaran (2010-09-20). "Karkwa win 2010 Polaris Music Prize". Aux. Archived from the original on 2012-07-19. Retrieved 2010-09-21.
  4. "Lord of the Strings by Kurt B. Reighley - Seattle Music - The Stranger, Seattle's Only Newspaper". Thestranger.com. Retrieved 2012-02-20.
  5. "Domino | Albums | Heartland". Dominorecordco.com. 2010-01-12. Retrieved 2012-02-20.
  6. Michael Barclay (January 21, 2010). "Owen Pallett's a one-man symphony". Macleans.ca. Retrieved 2010-04-14.
  7. Turner, Luke (24 March 2010). "Orchestral Manoeuvres & Homoerotica: Owen Pallett Opens His Heartland". The Quietus. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
  8. "Heartland by Owen Pallett reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
  9. "Reviews for Heartland by Owen Pallett". Metacritic. Retrieved September 23, 2014.
  10. Monger, James Christopher. "Heartland – Owen Pallett". AllMusic. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  11. Caine, Paul (January 12, 2010). "Owen Pallett: Heartland". The A.V. Club. Retrieved September 23, 2014.
  12. Kivel, Adam (January 12, 2010). "Album Review: Owen Pallett – Heartland". Consequence of Sound. Archived from the original on April 2, 2011. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  13. Hann, Michael (January 14, 2010). "Final Fantasy: Heartland". The Guardian. London. Retrieved September 23, 2014.
  14. Phull, Hardeep (January 18, 2010). "Album review: Owen Pallett – 'Heartland' (Domino)". NME. Archived from the original on November 6, 2010. Retrieved September 23, 2014.
  15. Abebe, Nitsuh (January 15, 2010). "Owen Pallett: Heartland". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 23, 2014.
  16. "Owen Pallett: Heartland". Q (284): 101. March 2010.
  17. Cole, Matthew (January 11, 2010). "Owen Pallett: Heartland". Slant Magazine. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  18. Cairns, Dan (January 17, 2010). "Owen Pallett: Heartland". The Sunday Times. London. Archived from the original on June 15, 2011. Retrieved September 23, 2014.
  19. "Owen Pallett: Heartland". Uncut (153): 84. February 2010.
  20. "Pop & Rock Year in Review". Exclaim!.
  21. "Domino | Singles | Lewis Takes Action". Dominorecordco.com. Retrieved 2012-02-20.
  22. "Domino | Singles | Lewis Takes Off His Shirt". Dominorecordco.com. Retrieved 2012-02-20.
  23. "Domino USA | News | Owen Pallett Unveils 'Lewis Takes Off His Shirt' Video, Orchestral Score Book and Tour Dates". Dominorecordco.us. Retrieved 2012-02-20.
  24. "Domino USA | Singles | Lewis Takes Off His Shirt 12". Dominorecordco.us. Retrieved 2012-02-20.
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