Send "Patrick Wolf " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Popjustice |
 PATRICK WOLF RETURNS WITH HIS NEW ALBUM “LUPERCALIA” ON HIDEOUT RECORDINGS (THROUGH MERCURY RECORDS) ON MAY 31STTHE BRILLIANTLY HOOK-DRIVEN SINGLE “THE CITY” IS CURRENTLY BUILDING GREAT SUPPORT AT RADIO AND LOOKS LIKELY TO BE PATRICK’S BIGGEST HIT SINGLE TO DATE “I’m really into an artist right now named Patrick Wolf. I think you would really love him – really fantastic, amazing, from the UK”. Lady Gaga “Britain’s most innovative, radical and creative pop star” The Observer “The lead single [“Time Of My Life”] from his fifth album, this is a quick-step ballad of strings and piano. Welcome back, Pat” NME “…it lasts for four amazing minutes and nine amazing seconds. It is dramatic and romantic and we love it…the new Patrick Wolf single is a triumph and maybe even something of a career high. Hurrah.” Popjustice “…a joyous, celebratory record full of energetic pop songs with Patrick’s inimitable twist” Notion Online “All hail the crown prince of alt-pop, then, who makes a dashing return with new material that’s romantic, urban and urbane” Metro “Suckers for pop heartbreak, handclaps and big violiny bits, consider yourself warned: not only is this POTW, it’s [“Time Of My Life”] shimmying up the Singles Of The Year” The Guardian The incredible PATRICK WOLF is set to break out from his major cult status with the release of a brand new single “The City” on Hideout Recordings, through Mercury Records, on March 14. The single is taken from his new album “Lupercalia” which will be released on May 31st. Both single and album show an increasing maturity in Wolf’s songwriting and voice, coupled with a fully fledged commercial nous which will see him embraced by both his burgeoning and very vocal independent fan base and, at last, by the mainstream. Having worked with artists as diverse as Florence Welch, Eliza Carthy, Marianne Faithfull, Tilda Swinton, Nan Goldin and, most recently, Patti Smith, Patrick Wolf’s iconoclastic music has seen him spread his prodigious talents into a number of fields. At 25 he was commissioned by Nan Goldin and Tate Modern to compose and perform the first original soundtrack, for Goldin’s legendary “Ballad Of Sexual Dependency”. Having met Patti Smith at a Dylan Thomas convention, Wolf was asked by her to join her band for some select performances, including one celebrating the life of photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. Wolf played with Patti Smith recently when he received a call from her to join her band in a short series of UK dates....full text |
| Pitchfork |
| "Songs about love are obviously the most common theme in pop music, but I wanted to approach it in a way that hadn't been done before. The title refers to the Lupercalia festival, which is the ancient fertility and love festival that happens around Valentine's Day. I strive to be original-- it's one of my biggest ambitions. There can be nothing worse sometimes than a soppy love record-- imagine if I'd called it To Love: Patrick Wolf!" That's Patrick Wolf doing the heavy-lifting when it comes to pinpointing what went wrong with Lupercalia: It's clear he hasn't shaken off his artiste pretensions since the goth-folk of his early work, but ever since the career peak of 2005's shadowy song cycle Wind in the Wires, he seems to want pop stardom. And while the clash of those desires can lead to fascinating music, it rarely happens when the artist considers himself above pop music and its consumers. And unfortunately, much like he did on The Magic Position and The Bachelor, Wolf is operating like someone who doesn't trust his audience to think at his level, offering a subtly condescending record that leaves so little to the listener's imagination that it actually may as well have been called To Love: Patrick Wolf! At first glance, Wolf's headfirst dive into new romantic pop seemed like a good move. As with "Accident & Emergency" or "The Magic Position", Wolf put a good step forward on this album's lead single: "The City" remains an insistently kicky piece of kitsch, its cheeseball horn charts and can-do lyrics about love transcending material possession successfully recalling 80s new pop. But like "The City"'s video-- Wolf frolicking on the Santa Monica pier with a bunch of Hollister ad types-- the rest of Lupercalia is self-aware in all but one crucial aspect, the ability to recognize just how blatantly it allows itself to lay it on so thick. Far be it from me to deny someone the agency to make his "happy" record, but Wolf seems to feel as if self-consciousness grants him a license to go slumming in his most insipid songwriting impulses. The clincher from otherwise charming "House": "This is the greatest peace I've ever known/ Only love makes a house a home." Meanwhile, the lesson learned on "Together" is "and I can't do this alone/ But we can do this so much better together," the last word harmonized just so in case you didn't get the gist. Sure, it's awkward when he allows himself a little more poetic license on the string-choked "Slow Motion" ("before you I was living in a silverfish kitchen"), but at least it's a new way to make the same point. How the album manages to feel so impersonal is weird considering it was inspired by Wolf's recent engagement, but the smug piano narrative of "Bermondsey Street" feels stuck somewhere between "Our House" and "Born This Way". What's frustrating is that if you strip away the unctuous lyrical gaffes, Wolf gets most everything else right. During Lupercalia's first half, he continues to prove himself a fine craftsman of major-key melodies, and this is his most confident and convicted vocal performance yet. But like most of Wolf's records, he eventually gives into sad songs and waltzes as Lupercalia progresses, and studded with the same overproduction tricks of cluttered strings and processed samples, "The Days" and "Slow Motion" don't offer much in the way of contrast outside of tempo....full text |
| Clixie |
| Out of the four currently released records from London singer-songwriter Patrick Wolf, it’s probably fair to say that ‘The Bachelor’ is our ultimate favourite. With tracks including ‘Vultures’, ‘Damaris’ and ‘Hard Times’ all further strenghtening our decision, it at first seemed that the 27-year-olds latest release ‘Lupercalia’ wouldn’t even get close to the heights of it’s former 2009 release – but how wrong we were. Bursting at the seems with joyous and jubilant pop offerings, ‘Lupercalia’ offers a stripped down approach with a great amount of romance – something identified by Wolf himself in the build up to the album’s release. In what seems a much more mature record to the previous, it’s arguable to say that Wolf has finally found a much suited comfort zone where he is not only seen as just doing the ‘bare minimum’ but progressing further in a flourishing career with a highly impressive fifth release. Unsurprisingly, the picks of the album generally reflect that of the released singles, with ‘The City’ opening an eleven track collection that strives on lush strings and raw but surprisingly nostalgic and passionate set of vocals. Along with tremendous energy and urgency, the emotionally expansive nature of the release is a clear winner and is identified throughout. Shortly following the open track is a further single from the forthcoming release in the form of ‘House’. A largely reminiscent encounter reflected in the official music video for the track offers a run-down dwelling where wildlife is rife; filled with overgrown plants, a rather large fish in an awkwardly small bowl and an ever-emerging lizard from the ruins of the structure are guaranteed winner all the nature lovers out there. Further stand-out would-be big hitters include the beautiful ‘Bermondsey Street’, again highly reflective of the romantic theme of the release along with another of the recent singles in ‘Time Of My Life’. Both tug on the romantic heart strings of it’s listener but aren’t your conventional love tales – both are happy encounters and give off a sense of relief in their delivery....full text |
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