Isn’t December wonderful? Not only do we get to be all festive-like, we also get to be bombarded by year-end review after year-end review telling us what was the best (and sometimes the worst) in music this year. As cynical as I am when reading these, I can’t help but give my two bits as well. It’s kind of like how a pacifist will approach James Bond on Nintendo 64; you know you’re contradicting yourself, but you just can’t help it.

Few artists amazed and confounded me more this year than Final Fantasy. With his album Has a New Home, which came out earlier in the year, Owen Pallett came into his own. Pallett, a classically informed violinist, has been weaving his way through the independent music scene around Toronto and Montreal, stopping to write and perform string arrangements for the likes of The Hidden Cameras, Royal City, and Gentlemen Reg. Most people know him as that skinny blonde dude who sometimes plays violin for the Arcade Fire. Although Pallett never falls into anything that could be seen as predictable, and therefore is hard to place stylistically, it’s easy to see that he’s influenced heavily by the music-as-interruption aspects of Xiu Xiu, and the gay-pop sensibilities of The Smiths. All of which is intertwined with his strong background in classical training and composition.

The Hidden Cameras: That’s When the Ceremony Starts
The Hidden Cameras were one of the first venues in which Pallett was able to display his gift of composition. “That’s When the Ceremony Starts” is one of the more explicit uses of Pallett’s strings in their catalogue. The song can been seen as a conversation between Joel Gibb’s lyrics pointing to both sperm and Jesus, and Pallett’s string arrangements, in which each part is responding to the other. Unlike many other pop songs that use strings merely as background and filler, here they add a dynamic to the music that could hardly be replaced by any other instrument. Whether it’s through the numerous swells, crescendos, or string plucks, they play an integral part.

Les Mouches: Carload of Whatever
Les Mouches is Pallett’s attempt to be brutally honest. With “Carload of Whatever,” Pallett displays his love for both Xiu Xiu and classical music. It begins with a clash of drums and guitar that eventually fall back into a quiet pulsating guitar that drives the song forward. The rest of the piece is merely a series of failed attempts to interrupt this constant guitar. Whether it’s Pallett proclaiming he’s taken pictures of himself giving head, or him screaming “I want your blood in me,” “Carload of Whatever” is one long flirtation with catastrophe, alternatively beautiful and awful.

Final Fantasy: This is the Dream of Win and Regine
In comes Pallett’s latest outfit, Final Fantasy, in which the guitars have been replaced with a violin and a loop pedal. Final Fantasy is Pallett’s pop(pier) solo project. “This is a Dream of Win and Regine” is as accessible as Pallett gets, chalk full of disco beats and a stunning interplay between the various violin and trombone parts. That said, there still lurks something dark beneath the surface of the song that never allows you to sit back and relax. The song begins with a fragile reverse loop that continues throughout. This coincides brilliantly with the lyrical content, in which Pallett sings apologetically to his Arcade Fire cohorts Win and Regine, “I tried to keep the crowds away,” giving the song even more of a sense of unease. What is remarkable about Final Fantasy, particularly on “This is the Dream of Win and Regine,” is the ease with which Pallett is able to amalgamate the discomfort of his work with Les Mouches, the pop awareness of his efforts with the likes of the Hidden Cameras, and his strong background in classical composition. We can only hope next year will be just as fruitful.

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