Monday, January 14, 2008

Patrick Cleandenim - T-Sides album of 2007




















New York music blog T-Sides have chosen Patrick Cleandenim's Baby Comes Home as the album of the year for 2007. Baby Comes Home comes above the likes of Feist, Dirty Projectors, Panda Bear, St Vincent in their end of year round round up.

"Perhaps the greatest asset that Patrick Cleandenim has is that so few people are doing what he’s doing anymore. What is he doing, exactly? He’s playing updated standards type of music, nodding back to days of big bands and swing and other early forms of jazz and pop. Sure, there are a few who do this - Jens Lenkman, for example, who you’ll likely find of plenty of this year’s top lists. Where Cleandenim exceeds his contemporaries, however, is his ability to do it without sounding gimmicky or gaudy. Too many artists who tread into this territory end up feeling insincere or over the top, like they thought “let’s try something new!” and one-offed it, bleeding perky pop song into perky pop song. Baby Comes Home has a very natural feel to it, as though there is no other way he knows how to make music. It has, well, everything. It’s sensual, flirty, relaxing, engaging, confident, glamorous, humble, sentimental, bitter - name an emotion, and it’s probably in here somewhere. It also has “Days Without Rain,” which is easily my favorite song of the year, a song I could (and often do) listen to for days and never tire of. A sumptuous plea for a lover’s return, he’s seductive, cheerful, commanding and pleading, all in the course of four minutes and 42 seconds. It’s the strings, the high-hat, the piano, each part so artfully played. There is no moment in a song this year that tops the moments where Cleandenim cries, “won’t you come home in the morning / before our love beings to dry the rain” (though that second bit changes throughout the song). Ultimately, though, what made this album so sure in its #1 placement is that this is the album that had me the most excited about music this year, the album that I made everyone listen to, the album that I came back to month after month. While Baby Comes Home is not as grand on an influential scale as something like In Rainbows, it deserves its accolades, too - and I’m more than pleased to give them. "

You can read the original article here

Wednesday, January 02, 2008

Patrick Cleandenim - Live at the Apartment



Recorded live in New York, Christmas 2007.