Heartland | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | January 12, 2010 | |||
Recorded | 2009, The Greenhouse, Reykjavík (except tracks 3 and 12) | |||
Genre | Baroque pop | |||
Length | 46:40 | |||
Label | Domino | |||
Producer | Owen Pallett | |||
Owen Pallett chronology | ||||
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Singles from Heartland | ||||
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Heartland is the third full-length album by Canadian indie rock artist Owen Pallett, released January 12, 2010 on Domino Records. It was the first of Pallett's records to be released under their own name. Since the album was their first to be released in Japan, they wished to avoid generating confusion with the Final Fantasy video games from Square Enix, and to avoid infringing on any trademarks. Pallett stated that their previous albums will be repackaged and reissued under their own name at some point. [1]
The record was mixed by New York producer Rusty Santos. [2]
The album was a shortlisted nominee for the 2010 Polaris Music Prize. [3]
As a prelude to the album, Pallett recorded an EP: Spectrum, 14th Century. Both the EP and the subsequent full-length album 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]
Aggregate scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AnyDecentMusic? | 7.6/10 [8] |
Metacritic | 76/100 [9] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [10] |
The A.V. Club | A− [11] |
Consequence of Sound | [12] |
The Guardian | [13] |
NME | 7/10 [14] |
Pitchfork | 8.6/10 [15] |
Q | [16] |
Slant Magazine | [17] |
The Sunday Times | [18] |
Uncut | [19] |
The album received positive reviews. In 2010, Heartland received Exclaim!'s No. 5 spot for best Pop & Rock Albums, with Exclaim! writer Andrea Warner remarking that "Heartland's themes (anger, isolation, loneliness) resonate, and the sonic nods to '70s disco and pop prove ridiculously catchy, bordering on radio-friendly." [20]
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]
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Domino Recording Company, or simply Domino, is a British independent record label based in London. There is also a wing of the label based in Brooklyn, New York that handles releases in the United States, as well as a German division called Domino Deutschland and a French division called Domino France. In addition, Stephen Pastel presides over the subsidiary label Geographic Music, which releases more 'unusual' music from Britain and outside of the Western world. In 2011, the company announced that it was beginning a book publishing division, The Domino Press.
Reginald Vermue is a Canadian indie rock singer from Guelph, Ontario. Born in Trenton, Ontario, he has recorded music under the stage names Gentleman Reg and Regina Gently. His musical style has been compared to Elliott Smith, Aimee Mann, The Smiths and Cat Power. He had a cameo role in the 2006 film Shortbus.
Clinic are an English rock band, formed in 1993 in Crosby, Liverpool by frontman Ade Blackburn, guitarist Jonathan Hartley, bassist Brian Campbell and drummer Carl Turney. The band were originally named Pure Morning.
Michael James Owen Pallett-Plowright, known professionally as Owen Pallett, is a Canadian composer, violinist, keyboardist, and vocalist. Under their former pseudonym Final Fantasy, Pallett won the 2006 Polaris Music Prize for the album He Poos Clouds. Pallett is also known for their contributions to Arcade Fire, having toured with the band and been credited as an arranger and instrumentalist on each of their studio albums. In January 2014, Pallett and Arcade Fire member William Butler were nominated for Best Original Score at the 86th Academy Awards for their original score of the film Her (2013).
Jeremy Gara is a Canadian drummer from Ottawa, Ontario. He is most well known as the drummer of the band Arcade Fire. Gara is an active performer in a number of other projects, including work as a solo performer.
He Poos Clouds is the second album by the Canadian indie rocker Owen Pallett, under the pseudonym Final Fantasy. It was released on June 13, 2006, on Blocks Recording Club in Canada and Tomlab internationally.
The Polaris Music Prize is a music award annually given to the best full-length Canadian album based on artistic merit, regardless of genre, sales, or record label. The award was established in 2006 with a $20,000 cash prize; the prize was increased to $30,000 for the 2011 award. In May 2015, the Polaris Music Prize was increased to $50,000, an additional $20,000, sponsored by Slaight Music. Additionally, second place prizes for the nine other acts on the Short List increased from $2,000 to $3,000. Polaris officials also announced The Slaight Family Polaris Heritage Prize, an award that "will annually honour five albums from the five decades before Polaris launched in 2006." Details about the selection process for this prize are still to be revealed.
Wild Beasts were an English indie rock band, formed in 2002 in Kendal. They released their first single, "Brave Bulging Buoyant Clairvoyants", on Bad Sneakers Records in November 2006, and subsequently signed to Domino Records. They have released five acclaimed albums, Limbo, Panto in 2008, Two Dancers in 2009, Smother in 2011, Present Tense in 2014 and Boy King in 2016. Two Dancers was nominated for the Mercury Prize.
The Luyas are a Canadian indie rock band formed in 2006 from Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
LP is the second album from lo-fi improvisational electronica band Holy Fuck. The album was nominated for Alternative Album of the Year at the 2008 Juno Awards and was nominated for the 2008 Polaris Music Prize. Owen Pallett contributed to the album, playing the violin part on 'Lovely Allen'. A remix version of "Royal Gregory" is featured on the soundtrack to Midnight Club: Los Angeles.
The following is a list of notable events and releases that occurred in 2010 Canadian music.
"Lewis Takes Action" is the first single from the album Heartland by Canadian musician Owen Pallett. It was released by Domino records in January 2010 in a limited edition on 7" vinyl. It features one track from the album and one exclusive track called "A Watery Day". The official newsletter concerning "Lewis Takes Action" called it a "super limited edition" without giving further details of how many copies were pressed. The single was only sold through the Domino online store; however there was a chance to win a signed copy of the record by downloading the mp3 version of the track "Lewis Takes Action".
The 2010 edition of the Canadian Polaris Music Prize was presented on September 20, 2010. The gala presentation was held at Toronto's Masonic Temple, and was hosted by Grant Lawrence of CBC Radio 3 and Sarah Taylor of MuchMusic.
Gigi is a Canadian music recording project based in Vancouver, formed in 2005 by the songwriter Nick Krgovich and record producer Colin Stewart after Stewart acquired two vintage plate reverb units and asked Krgovich to write songs — Phil Spector-inspired 1950s and 1960s-style pop music — to make use of them. With 40 musicians from indie rock bands collaborating, the group released an album, Maintenant, on the Tomlab label in 2010, to mostly positive reviews.
Siskiyou is a Canadian indie folk band formed in Vancouver, consisting of singer-songwriter Colin Huebert and guitarist Erik Arnesen.
A Swedish Love Story is an EP released by Canadian musician Owen Pallett. Following Heartland, this is Pallett's second release under their own name rather than their previous stage name, Final Fantasy.
"Lewis Takes Off His Shirt" is the second single from the album Heartland by Canadian musician Owen Pallett. It was released by Domino records in June 2010. It features one track from the album and five remixes. The week of July 12, 2010, the album was offered for free, to coincide with the announcement of fall 2012 tour dates.
Majical Cloudz was a Canadian music group from Montreal consisting of singer-songwriter Devon Welsh and Matt Otto. The group disbanded in March 2016.
In Conflict is the fourth full-length album by Canadian indie rock artist Owen Pallett, released May 27, 2014 on Domino Records and Secret City Records. The album features English ambient musician Brian Eno, who plays guitar and synthesizers as well as providing vocals. It was released on standard vinyl and CD as well as a limited edition double heavyweight LP. It was recorded by Mark Lawson. Canadian and Japanese special editions include exclusive bonus tracks.
Island is the fifth studio album by Canadian artist Owen Pallett. It was released on May 22, 2020, by Domino Recording Company.