Send "Patrick Wolf " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Popmatters. |
Lupercalia did surprise in some ways, particularly in its very conspicuous grasp for mainstream success. Gone were audacious costumes and big concept releases featuring an underused Tilda Swinton. Lupercalia was all big love sounds. It even featured a music video that could have easily doubled as an Abercrombie and Fitch ad. Wolf has talents aplenty, but he also really, really wants to be famous. So, also gone is the Kate Bush-inspired vocal unpredictability (Wild Beasts’ Hayden Thorpe does a far greater job at this, anyway), the paeans to the more naturalistic side of life. Wolf’s concerns on Brumalia are less lovey-dovey than its full-length predecessor, but they are also more political. Bringing headier subjects to the table is all well and good, but an artist may want to take care to make his political statements a bit more thought-provoking....full text |
| Pitchfork |
| Bait: Following this year's blindingly sunny Lupercalia and the clip for "The City" that had Patrick Wolf uncharacteristically gallivanting about on a Santa Monica beach, the Brumalia EP sounds seasonally appropriate for its late-November release. Switch: It sounds more appropriate for the holiday season, as opposed to the winter. Though there's incontrovertible proof that Wolf is long past trying to recreate the shadowy allure of his first two LPs, I gotta admit to hoping he'd bundle up in black again to at least reconcile his pop impulses with the gothic, brooding exaggerations of his youth. For the most part, Brumalia-- which translates to "festival of the shortest day"-- does let some blustery weather in, but sonically, it's on par with Lupercalia and The Bachelor, so it's not barren trees and howling winds so much as ostentatious Christmas light fixtures in the pure, driven snow. Whereas Lupercalia was inspired by the giddiness of a real-life romantic partnership, Wolf sidesteps straight biography to reacquaint himself with instruments, samples, and memories he literally found lying around: A long-dormant theremin seeps through the stately pulse of "Bitten", the percussion underpinning "Nemoralia" is cobbled together from news footage of London's summer riots, the words of "Jerusalem" were adapted from William Blake, while the confessional lyrics of "Trust" are straight from Wolf's diary. Though they're as lavishly produced as his proper records, the little sonic footnotes and specificity give Brumalia a demo-level, real-time immediacy that rarely comes through despite his gregarious persona....full text |
| Musosguide |
| Ever the restless creative, Patrick Wolf follows up this year’s full-length album Lupercalia with six brand new tracks, courtesy of a new EP entitled Brumalia. Named after an ancient Roman festival that celebrates winter, the EP aims to offer a contrast to the generally more upbeat nature of Wolf’s last record. Brumalia gets off to a strong start with ‘Bitten’ – oppressive beats are matched with mournful strings and skittering synths in a style that harks back to Wolf’s work on Lycanthropy and Wind In The Wires. Indeed, trivia fans may be interested to know that this is the first Patrick Wolf recording that he’s played theremin on since he was 13. It’s not just the sonic palette that has a touch of his earlier work about it either – the dark narrative concerning addiction is a continuation of the story of Lucy from ‘Bluebells’, a track which appeared on The Magic Position. The inclusion of ‘Together’ on this EP ties together the two records that Wolf has released this year. The song in question is still by far the best thing that Alec Empire and Patrick Wolf have collectively put their names to – although admittedly that’s not too difficult when the competition consists of ‘Vulture’ and (ugh) ‘Battle’ (which both appeared on 2009′s The Bachelor). Nevertheless, Empire’s synths bubble darkly rather than battering you over the head, while orchestral flourishes and a touching narrative combine to make this a rather pleasing song overall. ‘Time Of Year’s schmalzy saxophones and handclap-friendly drums sit somewhat oddly with its occasionally sombre message – “how many crosses more must we stigmata our soil with/until we reveal the blood on our hands?” Despite this, however, it’s a cheery sounding, festive number that wouldn’t have sounded entirely out of place on Lupercalia itself. Next up is something a little different for Wolf – a stirring take on the traditional hymn ‘Jerusalem’. He actually plays it pretty straight, letting his voice do the talking over a stark backdrop that consists of nothing but a piano and a musical saw – it’s simple, but very effective. ‘Nemoralia’ cranks up the darkness again, its beats clicking and whirring like machinery. Inspired by (and recorded during) the August riots, it successfully captures the oppressive bleakness of that short space of time… that is, until a massive saxophone solo comes out of nowhere towards the end. To be fair, it’s tasteful rather than being utterly overblown, but it does feel slightly incongruous....full text |
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