In Conflict

Released

In Conflict finds Owen Pallett embracing exactly that; the conflict of the mundane and miserable with the beauty of making it through your 30s unscathed, if that’s even possible. Semi-autobiographical (right down to giving the listener his real phone number), we’re whisked through conversations with friends and lovers the worries of whether parenthood is not only appropriate for the person but ethical for the planet, feeling out of touch with an excitable, younger lover, and the inevitable drifting apart between people who find themselves on disparate paths. All scored with Pallett’s lush orchestral-pop flair and a nearly complete-album collaboration with Brian Eno on synths and vocals, it’s a dizzying haymaker of a record that rewards what you bring to it.

Alex Riggs