Awake with Wolf's teeth
I dunno about you, but seeing Prince pull that Foo Fighers cover ("Best of You", the alleged love letter from Dave Grohl to John "Aw, God, THIS is our choice?" Kerry)from absolutely nowhere last night during the SuperBowl kept me tossing and turning all night.

Brain. Can't. Reconcile. Prince. Playing. Meatrock.

AAAGGGHHHHHHHHHH!

*Ahem*

As such, on this Monday morning, I want to come full-force with grade A material. To wit: the song that washed it away, that took over my brain and demanded attention, from one of the albums I’ve been playing the most in recent months, since it dropped into my lap late December, is the forthcoming The Magic Position album from UK multi-instrumentalist (violin, viola, cello, organ, guitar, the list goes on…) singer/songwriter Patrick Wolf. Think Andrew Bird with more sex appeal and better songs, or Of Montreal’s Kevin Barnes without the day-glo spraypaint huffing. If you’ve not yet been made aware of the beauty and utter giddy joy that comes from the sweeping choruses and epic song structure that’s known by heart to Patrick Wolf’s devoted fans (who border on Teen Girl Squad-esque obsession in the U.K.) then, while there’s still time, do like The Clipse say: g-g-get familiar.



Wolf’s two previous albums, his debut Lycanthropy and the epically dark Wind In The Wires, stand on their own as two haves of a moody, broodingly eccentric whole. Where the two albums merged and bled a common ground, a portrait was painted of Patrick’s sound as something nearing Laptop Gypsy, as he cradled his violin under one arm and an iBook full of subtle sound collages under the other.

(note: we're in the process of switching servers. If the files go down at any point, keep checking back)

Patrick Wolf: Tristan

My favorite moment off of 2005’s grossly overlooked Wind In The Wires-a fierce, pulsing snarl of a song that perfectly synthesizes Patrick’s raised by gypsies/wolves influence and classical instrumentation with his intense electronic desires. I’ve heard those in the (disgustingly irrelevant) dance-rock community detract Wolf’s earlier stuff by calling it boring-on “Tristan”, he could very well tear your throat out with a smile on his face.



The times and the sounds have a-changed when it comes to the Magic Position which comes out any day now in the U.S. The dark, brooding thematic elements have been replaced with a lyrical storytelling narrative, and Patrick’s allowed his pop side to come out to play, resulting the most bouncy, catchy stuff he’s ever made.

(Also, check the new look: it seems the Wolf has become a Tiga. I pray hourly for a collaborative remix project.)

Patrick Wolf: Accident and Emergency

This is it: the song that will demand your attention, and that you'll find yourself humming all freaking day, fist raised. Like the candyconfection-sister of “Tristan”, equally catchy but infinitely more upbeat. The first single from The Magic Position rings slightly political, but also fits into the self-exploration narrative of childhood becoming adulthood that ties together the entire album. Here’s hoping this doesn’t get butchered by the DFA/LCDs of the world, that will surely smell the roller-skate jam underneath the boyishly empowering sentiment.


Patrick Wolf & Marianne Faithfull: Magpie

Oh, you read that right: She Who Was Once God On AbFab appearing to give an ominous hand to our little Wolf. A deeper cut from The Magic Position, and proof that Patrick’s kept true to telling the story first. Dark and pretty, as well as a bit unsettling (in a good way-mostly due to Faithfull’s presence), Patrick the young balladeer resurfaces in a brief moment of fear on this, the turning point of the album.

And, your Mr. Wolf bonus:

Bjork: Army of Me (Patrick Wolf’s Army Of Klauss remix)

From the open-sourced “Army of Me” remix project a few years or so back, Patrick’s take on Bjork’s classic stumbles and lurches as a chopped fragment of the original until the last minute, at which point it grows fists and just fucking pounds.

The excitement of Magic Position comes in the way each song evolves with every listen-it’s a complex piece of work for something with such easy access, that’s screaming for 2007 Album of the Year status.



Buy The Magic Position

Resonator Mag: tyranny and hypocrisy? yuppers!

the magic myspace position

and DON’T FORGET: Resonator Mag LIVE grammy coverage right *here*, at resonator-mag.livejournal.com, this Sunday, Feb 11th, at 8pm est.