Adventures In Your Own Backyard is a nod to both Watson’s attempt to make a more “personal, humble” record—and to the fact that it was...
Adventures In Your Own Backyard is a nod to both Watson’s attempt to make a more “personal, humble” record—and to the fact that it was recorded almost entirely in his apartment in Montreal. By contrast, both Close to Paradise and especially 2009’s Wooden Arms were recorded over long periods of time, in many different locations around the globe.
As drummer Robbie Kuster explains, “Pat’s studio environment allowed us to be relaxed and feel like we were in an informal space…our own. That really let us dig in to the writing and the arranging.” The result is an album that is still ripe with the touchstones one has come to expect from Patrick Watson and his collaborators, but permeated with a greater sense of patience, and confidence.
Melancholic and joyful, it’s both soft and harsh, but more impressive than any contradiction is the gorgeous use of timbre that takes over from the word go. A wonderfully simple, elegantly performed album that puts the importance of texture into perspective.
