PATRICK WATSON releases LP and CD formats of 'Better in the Shade' on October 7th via Secret City Records
Credit: Leda & St. Jacques
Patrick Watson’s critically acclaimed album Better in the Shade will be available everywhere in LP and CD formats October 7 via Secret City Records.
Better in the Shade has been embraced by NPR Music’s All Songs Considered, Exclaim!, Under the Radar, NewSounds, Cool Hunting, Brooklyn Vegan, Clash Magazine, and Northern Transmissions, among others.
The singer-songwriter also shares today a brand-new video for the single “Height of the Feeling” featuring La Force. Director, Arizona O’Neill reveals ”after two years of feeling isolated during the pandemic...we wanted to make a video that reflected how jarring it is to return to social activities. In the black and white sections of the video, Patrick and La Force are singing while standing too close to one another. They are vulnerable and bashful by being in each other's personal space. The other sections in color take place in a small laundromat overcrowded with cheap, playful and kitsch objects. It was a perfect and hilarious choreography. The two parts of the video represent the playfulness and intimacy we had all been lacking. Like the video, the song has two polarizing readings: It is whimsical yet also speaks to the dark insecurity of losing love”.
Watch the music video for “Height of the Feeling” HERE
Stream/purchase Better in the Shade HERE
Patrick Watson composes, performs and records his albums with his long-time bandmate and collaborator Mishka Stein. The recipients of Canada’s Polaris Music Prize, in addition to multiple JUNO and Polaris nominations, Watson and his band have toured on all continents, on occasion playing with full orchestras to bring their rich music to life. Their most recent tour saw the band playing some of their largest venues to date, including the Barbican (London), L’Olympia (Paris), Coliseu (Lisbon), El Plaza Condesa (Mexico City), and more. Raised and still living in Montreal, Watson has composed several scores for both film and television, including a trailer for The Walking Dead and Wim Wenders’ 3D film Everything Will Be Fine.
This new recording appears after a prolific last couple of years - despite the worldwide pandemic - where Patrick released multiple songs (“A Mermaid in Lisbon”, “Que reste-t'il de nos amours”, “Lost with You”) following-up his previous award-winning album, Wave, released in 2019. More recently, Patrick played in London, UK at the Barbican with the BBC Orchestra.
Praises for “Better in the Shade”
“Patrick Watson is an outstanding storyteller” – NPR Music “All Songs Considered” (USA)
“A thing of rare beauty – intimate, evocative and absorbing. This is music to seep into your soul. ★★★★” The Sun (UK)
“Patrick Watson’s striking, creatively ingenious record, with exquisite vocals and instrumentals, comprises an impressive accomplishment.” ★★★★ – The Upcoming London (UK)
“Better in the Shade feels more intimate musically […] the music sounds more restrained […]This stems in part from the sharper focus on electronics, but also from the subtle and jazz-tinged drumming of Andrew Barr of The Barr Brothers, which works perfectly on a delicate number like "Blue." – Exclaim!
“richly evocative music to which you can readily attach your own personal movie. Producing music which can trigger that visual response so readily is no small feat. ” – Wall of Sound
“The album engages by disengaging from the world we know, using parts we tend to rely on as stepping stones to a deeper understanding. Everything you know is wrong on Patrick Watson’s Better in the Shade, which is what makes it so perfectly right.” – Folk Radio UK
“This vaporous and delicate [album] invites us to contemplate the small details of life and to draw a maximum of substance from them.” – PANM360
8.5/10 – Maximum Volume
★★★★ – Buzz Magazine UK
★★★★ – La Presse (CA)