Patrick Watson

Patrick Watson’s surreal music has varied wildly over the course of his past three albums, but what those all have in common is their confidence to vault from chamber-pop to knee-weakening instrumentals without a moment’s hesitation. None of the tracks from 2009’s Wooden Arms sound like they belong on an album together, but they share a music-box delicacy and dreamlike whimsy that helps even their most ethereal moments hang together. Watson is also infamous for integrating unorthodox instruments like bicycles, sombreros, and twigs, but they only serve to enhance his sound’s texture—not as cheap gimmicks. Live, the songs become wholly alien creations, as he and his band fearlessly mutate their material into something entirely new. His latest, this year’s Adventures In Your Own Backyard, strips away some of the wackadoo instrumentation of Wooden Arms, and leaves Watson’s falsetto vocals in the foreground. 

Updated 05/17/2012