Patrick Wolf, The Bachelor

Patrick Wolf is back, with his quirky music and colorful image (he’s currently a bleached blonde), and his new album is sure to impress his loyal fans. The Bachelor is filled with Patrick Wolf’s characteristic violas and voice with vibrato. What new aspects he brings: a variety of back up singers, including children and even gospel-style women, and a more mature sound that pushes beyond just electronics. He utilizes many uncommon instruments, like a ukulele and a harmonium, giving this album a sense of hard work behind it and an international feel, as it crosses many borders to accomplish such a rich sound. It seems as if Wolf wanted to perfect The Bachelor using the most minute details in order to truly make it a masterpiece. It’s amazing how much this man can do without the typical electrical guitar of most rock stars.

The Bachelor repeats the upbeat quality of his last album, The Magic Position (my personal favorite), but also possesses the seriousness of Lycanthropy and the long sustained notes of Wind in the Wires. There are memorable melodies, uplifting bells, and danceable tracks; this Brit comes with a bang. He pays homage to his country by titling his song “Hard Times” after the Charles Dickens novel about the struggle of his people under the belief in Utilitarianism during Victorian England.

The CD starts with an instrumental introduction, making the first song a short one meant to lead the listener into the rest of the album. Most of the songs contain a violin and piano part, in keeping with Wolf’s familiar motif of using various instruments behind his vocals. “Vulture” has a 1980s feel with a low synthesizer part layered by a higher one. “Blackdown” is a purely piano-driven song, soft and sweet. “Thickets” has an Irish sound, due to the piccolo used as the primary instrument. The title piece, “The Bachelor,” is a duet with an urgent feel, about the fear of getting married. The mood of the album is overall somewhat sad, yearning, and even desperate at times, but the songs chosen as singles so far are the more joyous-sounding ones (even if the lyrics give way to a deeper struggle).

The videos for “Vulture,” his first single, and “Hard Times,” his second, are posted on YouTube for your viewing pleasure. The first one is a bit reminiscent of Madonna’s mid-career scandalous black-and-white videos, and the second goes the opposite route, featuring him fully dressed and dancing with a slew of women in the background, all glowing in the dark. He is still young and hip, flaunting his boyish charm and singing his heart out for those who will listen.