Patrick Watson - 'Close To Paradise' (V2) Released 17/09/07

Patrick Watson are a Montreal four-piece, fronted by singer/pianist Patrick Watson. This might be confusing, but allows for the potentially pornographic statement "Simon Angell and Robbie Custer are in Patrick Watson". The press release compares Watson's voice to Jeff Buckley and Nina Simone, but he is less intense than them and the music is mostly low-key, too. It might make good dinner party background music, but for Watson's lyrics on the title-track album opener..."Talk is like walking on broken glass".

Another phrase of Watson's stands out on 'Slip Into Your Skin'…"A blanket for my bones". Indie kids are often skinny, but not having flesh is taking it too far. Or maybe Patrick is an archaeologist. 'Weight of the world' is a piece of oompah-loompah that would have been better suited to a rougher voice. Tom Waits would be ideal; Watson would need many years of coffee and cigarettes before he could do 'Weight Of The World' justice. He's better on the epic 'Luscious Life'..."Lift me up off the ground". This is the third song on the album with words to that effect. It might be repetition, or one of the songs could have been about an aeroplane, another levitation and lastly, a noose.

'Close To Paradise' does have an air of melancholy, most strongly felt on the next track, the beautiful 'Drifters'. Mishka Stein's subtle bass-lines are seemingly in conversation with Watson..."We are drifting away/ Farther every day/ Soon we'll have nothing to say". Musically, album closer 'Bright Shiny Lights' sounds like a lost 'change is gonna come' '60's civil rights soul record. The lyrics are about as soulful as a tanning shop sun-bed, though…"Those bright shiny lights, they're shining so bright".

It would be unfair to say 'Bright Shiny Lights' is representative of 'Close to Paradise' as a whole, which is always fine on the surface and occasionally has a heart-felt depth.