The new Patrick Phelan album

I first discovered Patrick Phelan‘s music when he was part of the trio South (not to be confused with the UK group of the same name).  He then released two solo albums, Songs Of Patrick Phelan (2000) and Parlor (2001), both of which blended the minimalist atmospherics of South’s self-titled album with a delicate, melancholic pop approach, resulting in something akin to a Mark Eitzel/Labradford collaboration.

It’s fairly maudlin and emotionally heavy stuff to be sure, but it’s perfect for grey winter days and other mopey cliches.  The key elements are Phelan’s breathy voice, which imbues his cryptic lyrics with a ghostly and nostalgic air, and his delicate guitar-playing, which relies more on filigree and nuance than anything else.

But aside from a few collaborations with labelmates Drunk and Spokane, Phelan has been pretty much missing in action.  But on December 6, Jagjaguwar will be releasing Phelan’s third full-length, Cost.

According to the Jagjaguwar site, the album sports a more guitar-oriented sound and an “abundance of true rock moments”.  Which, if you’re a fan of Phelan’s fragile sound, might throw up a red flag.  But listening to the two MP3s available online, I’m not really worried anymore.

“Favor” does start off a bit more aggressively, with some of the fullest and strongest drumming of any Phelan track.  But then his voice comes in, along with those picked guitars, and the song achieves a nice balance between between quiet and loud, even throwing in a few subtle twists along the way.  “Lesser Laws” is a more like “classic” Phelan, and culminates in a gorgeous string-and-electronic denouement.

Epitonic has several MP3s from Phelan’s previous discs, as well as some from South.

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• Nov 17, 2005, 5:55pm