Patrick Watson

Adventures In Your Own Backyard

Secret City is pleased to announce the release of Patrick Watson’s new album, Adventures In Your Own Backyard, on April 17th in Canada. The 12-track album will see release in the rest of the world via Domino. Adventures In Your Own Backyard will be preceded by the single for the sweeping, elegant Into Giants, which is available to all at at the official website and via the widget below. Patrick and his band have already lined up shows before the album’s release that will include a headlining appearance at South By Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas in March, and support dates with Andrew Bird in the US this May, with many more dates to follow throughout the world, including the province of Quebec.

New Patrick Watson single available today

Well this is fun. Patrick Watson recorded a new song so we decided to release it. It's called "Sit Down Beside Me" and it's available as of today exclusively on iTunes in Canada and the USA. "Sit Down Beside Me" sees Watson return to the more accessible dreamy pop of 2006's Close to Paradise while incorporating the rhythmic lessons learned on 2009's Wooden Arms. Like Watson's breakthrough hit "The Great Escape," the new single has piano and a simple catchy melody at its core, but this one uses that as a launch pad before taking off into outer space. Good luck getting the vocal refrain out of your head when it's done. Enjoy!

Patrick Watson - 5.7.10 92Y Tribeca, New York - Brooklyn Vegan Review

"He mesmerized a room full of chattering adults at 92YTribeca Friday night, into respectful silence. According to friends at the Bell House for the show the previous night, at one point you could actually hear crickets."

Patrick Watson 5.6.10 Bell House, Brooklyn - Pop Matters Review

"dreamy lyrics paired with boiling percussion punctuated by imaginative sounds... The quixotic yet charming sounds that compliment the entirety of Patrick Watson’s 2009 release, Wooden Arms, seem like an overwhelming amount to absorb live. Instead the album became an engaging experience, its ideas lucidly and compelling conveyed."

Patrick Watson announces US dates

Patrick Watson & the Wooden Arms have just announced a string of U.S. shows in May, including shows in New York, Chicago and LA, and wrapping up with an appearance at The Sasquatch Fesitval at the Gorge in Washington. These will be their first US shows since the jaw-dropping CMJ performance in new York back in October. (Which by the way, you can still hear in its entirey thanks to NPR and KEXP).

Patrick Watson's first album finally available

We're particularly excited to announce that Patrick Watson's first album, Just Another Ordinary Day, has finally been re-issued and is available as of today...especially because this means people will stop emailing us asking where they can get it! Originally self-released in 2003 in very limited quantities, this was the first recording prominently featuring all four members of the band: Patrick Watson, Simon Angell, Robbie Kuster, and Mishka Stein. All the band’s current touchstones are apparent on the album: from Watson’s intimate-sounding vocal and piano performances, to Simon Angell’s dreamy soundscapes, and Robbie and Mishka’s intricate space-rock rhythms. But it also gives an interesting window into the band’s early stages, with moments of subtle electronica, and arguably some of their most accessible pop songs to-date.

Patrick Watson's CMJ show streaming on NPR

"Recorded with the help of Seattle's KEXP, this was one of the best live shows I've seen all year, anywhere. Watson is a dynamic performer who gets deep inside the songs, and you can tell. His face contorts, his body shifts as he becomes the characters and stories he sings. But there's more to Watson than his colorful songs. He has one of the best bands performing music these days, able to shift moods from funny to scary, and from cartoony to evocative of street life, often in the same song."

Patrick Watson At the Concert Hall on Bravo

Patrick Watson fans set your PVRs. The band recently taped a live performance in Toronto for Bravo's At the Concert Hall series. It airs tomorrow night, August 25th, at 10PM eastern time. The band has just wrapped up their European festival tour and will be making their way back home for some September dates in Quebec, and a long overdue return to California in October. They'll be in San Diego on the 15th, L.A. on the 17th, and San Fransisco on the 20th. Details are over in the Shows section.

Wooden Arms shortlisted for 2009 Polaris Prize

Patrick Watson's Wooden Arms has been shortlisted for the 2009 Polaris Prize. This is the second time they've been nominated for the award, after having won it the first time around in 2007. You can see the rest of the Short List here.

Patrick Watson Jazz Fest show to be streamed live

For those of you jealous of the thousands of people who'll be seeing Patrick Watson's free outdoor show at the Montreal Jazz Fest this Sunday, we've got some good news. The show will be broadcast live on Sympatico / MSN as a special Bell Special Event. Starting at 9pm on July 5th, you'll be able to watch the entire performance here: http://inmusic.ca/patrickwatson. If you are in Montreal, the band will be doing an autograph session after the show at 11pm at the Archambault tent.

Patrick Watson to play free outdoor show at Montreal Jazz Fest

The world tour for Wooden Arms has just wrapped, but that doesn't means Patrick Watson is going back into hibernation just yet. We're pleased to announce that Patrick Watson & the Wooden Arms will be performing a very special free outdoor show on July 5th as part of the 30th Anniversary edition of the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal. You can find all the details here.

SixEyes Wooden Arms review

"Wooden Arms, Patrick Watson's 3rd full length is so intoxicating, so magical, that it has pushed every thing I've heard since, down a notch, or two."

Patrick Watson on Yahoo's the New Now

Check out Patrick Watson on Yahoo's take-away style feature, the New Now, with acoustic performances in LA ...

New Patrick Watson Take Away show

"Over the past 3 years, we have filmed more than 150 bands, inside/outside/acoustic/electric, fun for most, boring sometimes. Never any band made us such a great impression as Patrick Watson and the Wooden Arms. It was a year ago, it’s finally online, and it still remains one of my favourite movies, and probably the best Take Away Show ever." (Vincent Moon)

Overwhelming praise for Wooden Arms...

People love Wooden Arms. Response to Patrick Watson's latest offering has been nothing less than staggering, with glowing reviews and praise coming in from SPIN, the Toronto Star, KCRW, NME, La Presse, and NPR, just to name a few. Take a look at what people are saying ...

NPR.org / WNYC session

"The moment I heard Patrick Watson's new record, Wooden Arms, it was love at first listen. ... Wooden Arms is a beautiful collection of songs that bring together delicate pop, ethereal atmosphere and a minimalist sense of composition."

NME Review (9 on 10)

"The spontaneous sounding arrangements - topped by Watson's uniquely mercurial voice - are at turns ornate, grand and subtle, but never less than totally bewitching."

Los Angeles Times feature

"a series of impressionist vignettes into a quick-seeming 45-minute session perfect for late nights and lonely bus rides."

SPIN review

"third album of baroque pop is a meandering path of Puckish enthusiasm and Jeff Buckley warmth, moonlit and effusive with churning pianos, tense strings, and crisp xylophone ... [4 stars] "

Wooden Arms is out today in Canada!

Wooden Arms is out today in Canada! Our new web store is just about ready, but in the meantime, there's a bonus version available on right now. The band played their first show of the release tour last night in Quebec City. Reviews are starting to pour in about the album and consensus seems to be pretty fantatsic. NPR and KCRW are already singing it's praises, La Presse called the album 'Magnifique' and gave it an unheard of 4.5 stars ... and Eye Weekly came in with a 4 star review. We suspect that's just the beginning. We're really pleased that people seem to be responding to a record that's maybe more difficult, but also more rewarding ... especially because it does such a good job of representing what Patrick Watson & the Wooden Arms (yes, you can call them that) are all about.

Chart Attack (5 C's out of 5)

"a gigantic leap forward in Patrick Watson and his band's ability to tell stories and capture precise moods with a cinematic grace"

Toronto Star review

"jaw-dropping depth and invention ... Wooden Arms is up there with the best in cracked-mirror pop music. It's out there -- almost defiantly so at times -- yet it makes such a lustrously tuneful bid for the fringes that any mainstream curiosity has no choice but to follow. [3.5 stars out of 4]" - Toronto Star

La Presse Review "Magnifique."

"Patrick Watson ... ont engendré la beauté. Ils ont crée une véritable fresque ou se dissimulent les références, ou chaque souche sonore s'enracine dans l'inspirations. Magnifique. [4.5 étoiles sur 5] " La Presse

Said the Gramophone praise

"Wooden Arms is leaps & bounds better than his debut and it is an album full of leaps and bounds."

Wooden-Arms.com launches, complete tour announced

We're pleased to announce that Wooden-Arms.com—the official website for Patrick Watson's new album—is now live, and also streaming a new song from the album. The website will be growing as the year progresses, and will be one-stop location for every single and video we release. Wooden Arms is out in just over a month in Canada, and the rest of the world follows suit closely after (you can see all of the various international release dates on the album site). That's how the Wooden Arms tour is going down, too, as the full international tour has now been announced. If you don't see your town here, don't worry, the band will be playing plenty more shows as the year goes on. But this is the first leg. Dates below...

Patrick Watson Canadian dates

Wooden Arms is on the way, and so is a whole new Patrick Watson tour in support of the record. The madness starts at home. There's lots more to come on an international whirlwind tour, but to whet your appetite, check out these Canadian dates. Details and ticket information (these are on sale Friday March 6th at noon!) is in the shows section. April 27 - Quebec City @ L'Imperial April 29 - Montreal @ La Tulipe April 30 - Montreal @ La Tulipe May 2 - Toronto @ Trinity St. Paul's May 13 - Vancouver @ Richard's on Richards May 15 - Calgary @ Grand Theatre May 16 - Edmonton @ McDougall United Church

Wooden Arms is coming...

Wooden Arms is coming. It's been a while since Patrick Watson's last record. Close to Paradise was Secret City's first ever release way back in 2006, and we're pumped to be able to announce it's follow-up, which is due on April 28th in Canada and May 5th in the USA. (We'll have more news soon on the European release, too). We also think this record is going to win over quite a few new fans. Stay tuned!

Patrick Watson to play two intimate shows at Pop Montreal

Secret City's first ever release, Patrick Watson's Close to Paradise, first hit Canadian shelves two years ago today, so all the more fitting that we come to you with some exciting recording news about the band. After two years of non-stop touring, the boys are finally in recording mode again. They're currently knee-deep in microphones at Breakglass Studios in Montreal, recording their much-anticipated follow-up to Close to Paradise. They'll be taking a break from studio time (but not recording) however, to play two intimate shows during Pop Montreal at l'Église St-Jean-Baptiste Chapel on October 1st and 2nd. Spaces are extremely limited, and it should get pretty interesting in there... *** On that note, if you're looking for an advance scoop on this kind of thing, make sure and sign up for the new-and-improved Secret City newsletter. We'll be doing a lot of interesting things with it in the coming months. The sign-up field is over in the right column.

NME - Patrick Watson previews new material at rare lunchtime gig

"Patrick Watson performed a rare lunchtime gig at the intimate Hotel Café in Los Angeles today (June 19) for a star-studded audience that included Rage Against The Machine's Tom Morello...."

Patrick Watson to play KARKWATSON shows in June

Anyone who's seen Patrick Watson perform live knows that the four-piece put on an amazing live show, often changing song-arrangements on a dime, extending parts, and generally exploring the big musical soundscapes they're able to create. Well that whole spirit of their performance is going to be taken a step further when they team up with fellow Quebec artists Karkwa in June for some 9-piece action. You can expect some Patrick Watson songs, some Karkwa songs, but probably a whole lot of crazyness in between. They play June 12th in Quebec City, and June 13th and 14th at Le National in Montreal. After these shows Patrick Watson will be playing a handful of European summer festival dates, and spend the rest of the summer recording the follow-up to 2006's Close to Paradise. See the shows section for more Karkwatson and festival information.

Patrick Watson wins Polaris Prize

Wow. Well. Secret City's Patrick Watson took home Canada's Polaris Prize last night, and we're pretty much speechless. We were thrilled as it is when both they and Miracle Fortress made the shortlist amidst some very good company. To see Patrick, Simon, Mishka and Robbie walk away with the Prize was something else. There were some amazing records up the award, many of which we at Secret City are huge fans of...so all we can say at this point is a really humble thanks.

More award nominations for Patrick Watson

The praise just keeps coming for Patrick Watson and Close to Paradise, with an event-topping six GAMIQ nominations coming in this week. The newly minted GAMIQs are awarded to independent Quebec artists, picking up where the MIMIs left off. Patrick Watson is up for "Artist of the Year", "Songwriter of the Year", "International Career", "Show of the Year", "Breakthrough Artist of the Year" and "Best Indie-Pop Album". All these awards are partially determined by public voting, so by all means, go and vote!.