editor's info:
When Owen Pallett began to work on the material for "He Poos Clouds" he decided to start with a list which should outline his approach.

1. A set of songs that attempt to modernize each of the eight D&D schools of magic
2. Every song will be written for string quartet and voice
3. Nobody who listens to it will ever again entertain thoughts of suicide.

On his second album, "He Poos Clouds," Owen Pallet presents a clearly enhanced concept of his solo project Final Fantasy. The core sound of his 2005 debut, "Final Fantasy Has A Good Home," was mainly based on Pallet's violin and his virtuoso handling of the loop pedal. He now proves his skills as an arranger, working with a large chamber music ensemble, featuring a string quartet, piano, harpsi-chord and percussion (among others). Still, Owen shows an impres-sive ingenuity for melodic lines and
surprising turnarounds.

Regardless of the more extended scope for this album, "He Poos Clouds" was produced to maintain a certain intimacy. The overall atmosphere carries the ease of an afternoon dress rehearsal, as if the ensemble members played for themselves one last time before the crowd rushs in. Owen's mostly introverted vocals also express this mood of privacy.

The musical language of The Final Fantasy is eclectic without letting its influences act as bare quotations for themselves. Traces were smeared with care and everything is consolidated and processed in such a peculiar way that we cannot designate the culprits any longer. He even integrates an amazing variety of stylistic spheres within the individual songs.

"The Arctic Circle" - A tango-like rhythm framework is transferred into a kind of West Coast-beatitude before going through a very dramatic sequence of modulations.

"This Lamb sells Condos" - The stylized ragtime parody of the piano intro meets seemingly innocen.......
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Piękna kameralna muzyka pełna niespodzianek. Na swoim drugim albumie Kanadyjczyk Owen Pallett (aranżer i muzyk koncertowy Arcade Fire) mocno rozbudowaną koncepcją swego projektu solowego Final Fantasy. Na pograniczu popu i kameralistyki, pełne zaskakujących aranżacji smyczkowych, z udziałem wielu muzyków, kwartetu smyczkowego, pianina, perkusji i oczywiście niesamowitego głosu Owena. Powstały z tego zgrabne melodie, piosenki z rozbudowaną dramaturgią, z elementami folku, ragtime'u, tanga, jazzu, songów Brechtowskich...
Final Fantasy to jeden z niewielu projektów, który idzie tylko i wyłącznie własną drogą i nie sposób porównać go do nikogo innego, swą oryginalnością sprawia kłopot recenzentom, nie dając zamknąć się w żadnej z przygotowanych szufladek.