Adventures in Your Own Backyard

Adventures In Your Own Backyard, the fourth full-length effort from Patrick Watson, was recorded in Montreal after a grueling five-year run that saw Patrick and his band (bassist Mishka Stein bass, guitarist Simon Angell and drummer Robbie Kuster) tour the world in support of two critically-acclaimed and successful albums, including the Polaris Music Prize-winning Close To Paradise.

The album’s title 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 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.

Adventures in Your Own Backyard - Sun Chain four star review

Watson’s haunting melodies and swooping falsetto coalesce with the quartet’s layered and cinematic orchpop into a work that inhabits its own world.

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La Blogothèque Concert Review

Patrick Watson, un garçon qui ne peut pas ne pas tout orchestrer, ne restera jamais bras ballants devant un micro, imaginera une mise en scène unique pour chacun de ses morceaux, des morceaux qui suivent les règles et la logique des rêves, parsemés de souvenirs d’enfance et d’aventures secrètes.

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Adventures in Your Own Backyard - Exclaim! Interview

Music's been my life and I guess I never looked back since then. It became the infrastructure of my life so it's not really a question of whether I want to do music anymore, it's about how I want to do music and how I want to adapt to music. I don't think I've even begun to question why I'm still doing music. For me it's so ingrained into what I do and who I am it's not even a question at this point

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"Patrick Watson Is Mad About Hats" - Spin feature

Cranial matters aside, Watson's beloved collection of headwear plays an important role shielding him from the vulnerability of performing. "When I play shows I'm a pretty generous performer. I talk to the audience. It's fun, easy going stuff like that. I definitely wouldn't do that if I wasn't wearing a good hat. It's like I have this space on stage when I need it. Without it, I feel naked."

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Adventures in Your Own Backyard - Consequence of Sound review

Watson’s trademark is lush, melodic, and charming tunes that sound playful and larger than life; the songs on Adventures are no exception. Opening track “Lighthouse” starts with a quiet piano melody and the singer’s reverbed high tenor ever so lightly floating over the top like a mist on the grass. It evokes a still morning scene fit for a Bon Iver autumn. The music then explodes with marching snares, mariachi trumpets, and diving strings while Watson’s voice blends with the ringing cymbals and piano. The outdoor feeling switches to summer with mid-album highlight “Into Giants”, a bouncy, playful, nearly Simon and Garfunkel-esque tune. A backing choir is brought into the mix to give the track a fullness that will overcome you like a warm breeze.

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Les Inrocks - Patrick Watson Marcheur de Lune

Vivement l’été, les nuits passées dehors, allongé sous un ciel sans nuages, à scruter l’obscurité en attendant une étoile filante ou l’arrivée des extraterrestres. On a déjà la bande-son : Adventures in Your Own Backyard, le quatrième album du Montréalais Patrick Watson. Il y a trois ans, au moment de la sortie de son album précédent, il nous expliquait qu’il avait rêvé d’une musique qui sonne comme du “folk de science-fiction”. La formule vaut encore pour Adventures in Your Own Backyard, magnifique album de chansons libérées, à la fois épiques et légères.

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La Presse - Patrick Watson à Bourges

Le chanteur commence tout en douceur avec Light House. Un air classique qui semble venu d'ailleurs. Guitare et percussions viennent s'ajouter. Le ton est donné. L'artiste enchaîne avec Black Wind, puis Step Out for a while et Quiet Crow tandis que le public essaie de ne pas perdre une miette de la performance artistique qui se déroule devant ses yeux; des films en noir et blanc sont projetés sur deux toiles rondes dans le fond de la scène illustrant les envolées vocales puissantes mais tout en retenue de l'artiste.

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NPR review for Adventures in Your Own Backyard

That said, 2012 feels like Patrick Watson's year. — he's a charismatic performer who put on the best show I saw at SXSW this year — Adventures in Your Own Backyard will find its way to the top of many year-end lists. If you could wear out an MP3, my copy of this record would already have scratches.

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Adventures in Your Own Backyard - The Guardian Review

The choir-stroked Words in the Fire is darkly lovely.

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Voir review for Adventures in Your Own Backyard

À travers ces voltiges au lyrisme mélodieux, jamais l’on ne se perd tant la virtuosité des musiciens est grande. Un disque moins alambiqué que Wooden Arms et tout aussi raffiné. À faire rougir la compétition.

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