Quick, Before It Melts.

It wasn't until the other day, after the dust had settled from the Polaris Music Prize celebrations, that I remembered that Final Fantasy had a pair of new EPs available. How, you may ask, could I forget all about the follow-ups to He Poos Clouds?! When word came down some time in August that Owen Pallett was planning on releasing Spectrum, 14th Century, and Plays To Please--both of which come with some unique pedigrees--I fully intended to get the detail on release and purchase, but it all ended up slipping my mind, what with all the end-of-summer activity, and start-of-school shenanigans I had to deal with. Oh well, better late then never.

Spectrum, 14th Century is a collection of recordings Pallett made with Beirut while working on their album Flying Club Cup. The songs are intended to be a sonic map of the fictitious land of Spectrum. Bird calls, percussive flourishes, insect chirps, and Final Fantasy's trademark strings all merge in a five song road trip through a trippy mind. Plays To Please finds Pallett paying homage to fellow Torontonian Alex Lukashevsky and his band Deep Dark United. The six tracks are all covers of Lukashevsky songs and really go for a big band sound, incorporating 35 players, and apparently one Andrew Bird whistling.

So not your standard follow-up to an award winning album, but then again, Owen Pallett has never been your standard rock musician. As complicated as both concept EPs sound, they simply come across earnestly and without pretension. I'm beginning to think that he doesn't have a condescending bone in his body. The music he makes comes from a place where truth and sincerity overpower irony and posturing for the sake of status. His cover of Bloc Party's "This Modern Love" from a few years back is evidence of this, devoid as it is of any of the self-congratulatory, cutting-edge machismo that a lesser artists would most likely indulge in.

What really strikes me about these recordings is Pallett's gorgeous singing voice. If you loved the way he cooed and crooned in the past, then you'll fall madly in love with his vocal performance on these EPs, especially the charming "Nun or a Bawd" from Plays to Please. These EPs are truly outstanding works, and should be considered on par with his previous albums; no stop-gap releases here then. Your best bet of getting a hold of these recordings is through iTunes, as physical releases were limited in number and seem to be unavailable through the Final Fantasy website links.

MP3: Final Fantasy "The Butcher"
MP3: Final Fantasy "Ultimatum"
Video: Final Fantasy "This Modern Love"
Myspace: Final Fantasy