Adventures In Your Own Back Yard is Montreal act Patrick Watson’s fourth studio album, and arguably, their most accessible to date. The LP opens and closes with two beautiful, haunting piano-led numbers, ‘Lighthouse’ and ‘Swimming’. Similarly, ‘The Quiet Crowd’ could soundtrack an old-school gothic horror movie, with its delicate, cascading piano and eerie woodwind.
Elsewhere, the album veers into alt. country territory, and while this is no bad thing (‘Noisy Sunday’ is a beaut), the collection does come across somewhat disjointed as a result. Perhaps a few less songs – there are 12 on here, and it does drag at times – would have offered more cohesion. That said, there are some really lovely cuts on Adventures In Your Own Backyard. ‘Into Giants’ is pure feelgood folk pop, reminiscent of the band’s neighbours, Arcade Fire, while the dreamy stylings of instrumental track ‘The Things You Do’ are absolutely hypnotic.
A mish-mash, but a pleasant one.