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Brooding, multi-talented indie prince Patrick Wolf lets a little sunshine in on his third full-length album, the undeniably catchy but highly unstable The Magic Position. Released in 2005, Wind in the Wires struck a nice balance between eerie British folk-inspired imagery/instrumentation and general home-recorded electronic cacophony. It was a deeply personal, slightly guarded, and occasionally brutal slice of brain tissue that promised great things from the young singer/violinist. That skull is open to the public on The Magic Position, and while the results can be a little spotty, the exhibit itself is impossible to ignore. Wolf is blissfully unafraid of pomp and circumstance, an observation lent weight by the pulse-quickening opener, "Overture." With its refrain of "Come on, open wide and let some light in," it's the perfect litmus test for potential listeners, as what follows is essentially the equivalent of a walk in the rain with the sun peeking out and the umbrella in the trash. The songs are more vibrant and confident (even danceable) than anything he's released in the past. The title cut, with its mechanical Motown-inspired backbeat and strings, avoids the twee-soul of Belle & Sebastian by hinging on Wolf's deep baritone. It, like much of the record, juggles irony and hope with lust and love in a way that dismisses the opinions of the masses without insulting them. That occasionally barbed baritone is what keeps Wolf with one foot so firmly planted in the dark and, like late-'80s Depeche Mode, it's the juxtaposition between the two worlds that keeps things so interesting. The Magic Position loses a little focus near the end, but flashes of inspired lunacy like the jarring arrival of a spectral Marianne Faithfull on the spooky "Magpie" help to make this unpredictable collection of Victorian-peaked electro/folk-pop so hard to dislike.
© James Christopher Monger /TiVo
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Andreas Kaufmann, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Patrick Wolf, Producer, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Nathaniel Chan, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Austrian String Quartet, Ensemble - Werner Dafeldecker, Double Bass, AssociatedPerformer - Richard Eigner, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Alexej Barer, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Raphael Handschuh, Viola, AssociatedPerformer - Rozaliya Rashkova, Cello, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2007 Polydor Ltd. (UK)
Jeremy Shaw, Unknown, Other - Andreas Kaufmann, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Patrick Wolf, Producer, Dulcimer, Background Vocalist, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Flip Philip, Glockenspiel, AssociatedPerformer - Mark Rudland, Trombone, AssociatedPerformer - Richard Eigner, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Derek Apps, Bass Clarinet, AssociatedPerformer - Victoria Sutherland, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Alexej Barer, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Raphael Handschuh, Viola, AssociatedPerformer - Rozaliya Rashkova, Cello, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2007 Polydor Ltd. (UK)
Ben Hillier, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Patrick Wolf, Producer, Vocals, Synthesizer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Flip Philip, Vibraphone, AssociatedPerformer - Edward Larrikin, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Mark Rudland, Trombone, AssociatedPerformer - Richard Eigner, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Lafayette Street, Unknown, Other
℗ 2007 Polydor Ltd. (UK)
Patrick Wolf, Producer, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2007 Polydor Ltd. (UK)
Patrick Wolf, Producer, Piano, Unknown, Other, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Mark Rudland, Trombone, AssociatedPerformer - Werner Dafeldecker, Double Bass, AssociatedPerformer - Richard Eigner, Drums, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2007 Polydor Ltd. (UK)
Patrick Wolf, Producer, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Nathaniel Chan, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Marianne Faithfull, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2007 Polydor Ltd. (UK)
Patrick Wolf, Producer, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2007 Polydor Ltd. (UK)
Patrick Wolf, Producer, Piano, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Nathaniel Chan, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Katy Wright, Cello, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2007 Polydor Ltd. (UK)
Patrick Wolf, Producer, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2007 Polydor Ltd. (UK)
Jeremy Shaw, Unknown, Other - Patrick Wolf, Producer, Harp, Unknown, Other, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Nathaniel Chan, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Flip Philip, Vibraphone, AssociatedPerformer - Jo Apps, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Richard Eigner, Drums, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2007 Polydor Ltd. (UK)
Patrick Wolf, Producer, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Nathaniel Chan, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Flip Philip, Vibraphone, AssociatedPerformer - Werner Dafeldecker, Double Bass, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2007 Polydor Ltd. (UK)
Patrick Wolf, Producer, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Jo Apps, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2007 Polydor Ltd. (UK)
Patrick Wolf, Producer, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Jo Apps, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2007 Polydor Ltd. (UK)
Album review
Brooding, multi-talented indie prince Patrick Wolf lets a little sunshine in on his third full-length album, the undeniably catchy but highly unstable The Magic Position. Released in 2005, Wind in the Wires struck a nice balance between eerie British folk-inspired imagery/instrumentation and general home-recorded electronic cacophony. It was a deeply personal, slightly guarded, and occasionally brutal slice of brain tissue that promised great things from the young singer/violinist. That skull is open to the public on The Magic Position, and while the results can be a little spotty, the exhibit itself is impossible to ignore. Wolf is blissfully unafraid of pomp and circumstance, an observation lent weight by the pulse-quickening opener, "Overture." With its refrain of "Come on, open wide and let some light in," it's the perfect litmus test for potential listeners, as what follows is essentially the equivalent of a walk in the rain with the sun peeking out and the umbrella in the trash. The songs are more vibrant and confident (even danceable) than anything he's released in the past. The title cut, with its mechanical Motown-inspired backbeat and strings, avoids the twee-soul of Belle & Sebastian by hinging on Wolf's deep baritone. It, like much of the record, juggles irony and hope with lust and love in a way that dismisses the opinions of the masses without insulting them. That occasionally barbed baritone is what keeps Wolf with one foot so firmly planted in the dark and, like late-'80s Depeche Mode, it's the juxtaposition between the two worlds that keeps things so interesting. The Magic Position loses a little focus near the end, but flashes of inspired lunacy like the jarring arrival of a spectral Marianne Faithfull on the spooky "Magpie" help to make this unpredictable collection of Victorian-peaked electro/folk-pop so hard to dislike.
© James Christopher Monger /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 13 track(s)
- Total length: 00:40:36
- Main artists: Patrick Wolf
- Composer: Patrick Wolf
- Label: Polydor Records
- Genre: Pop/Rock Rock Alternative & Indie
© 2006 Polydor Ltd. (UK) ℗ 2006 Polydor Ltd. (UK)
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