We have not yet reached the halfway mark of 2015, but already this year is rearing its head as a tremendous year for music. My Morning Jacket has struck with another triumph, the Mountain Goats have turned wrestling into poetry, BADBADNOTGOOD & Ghostface Killah put together a great jazz-hip-hop collaboration, Sufjan Stevens poured out his soul, and that is just the beginning. Despite the high bar set by these artists, another new release may be taking its place at the top. Patrick Watson’s Love Songs for Robots is a demonstration of why this band is the very best of Canadian music right now. After watching Patrick Watson debut Love Songs for Robots at the Black Sheep Inn in April, my expectations could not have been higher, and this record more than lives up to the hype.

To Patrick Watson fans, it will come as no surprise that Love Songs for Robots sounds like quintessential Patrick Watson but is also completely distinct from their previous work. This album will take the listener through every musical mood, from peaceful to longing to jubilant energy. This has been true of every Patrick Watson album, but this time the masterful songwriting seems to have been thrust into the distant future. Love Songs for Robots would fit nicely with Quindar on an astronaut’s stereo. This is the album that would finally get Marvin, the Paranoid Android, to feel.

Patrick Watson has taken us to space through the careful use of ambience and synthesizers. Love Songs for Robots explores the electronic side of music more so than their previous albums, but the focus remains on the exquisite musicianship of the entire band. Patrick’s voice remains angelic, and its soft, distant quality makes it fit perfectly in the cosmic theme. His piano work and Joe Grass’s guitars maintain the harmonic background of the music. Robbie Kuster’s creatuve drumming and Mishka Stein’s warm bass tone forms one of the best rhythmic duos in Canada right now. The electronics, synthesizers, and piles of reverb are simply the extra qualities that give Love Songs for Robots a little more character.

Don’t miss Love Songs for Robots, this album is one for the ages.

Much Love,

~Dave