It took me a while to get around to listening to this, which is a shame because I've enjoyed his past work. Patrick Wolf is a rather theatrical baroque pop practitioner who incorporates electronic elements into his music, but pop structures and infectious melodies are a hallmark of his sound. As a result, it feels very accessible despite the dense and constant string instrumentation, sometimes over-sung vocals, and general emotional weight to his lyrics. He could come across as sappy and vain, and such complains are not without merit, but Lupercalia is his most consistent album. It is without a weak track, despite a short interlude in the middle, and has a nice balance of upbeat songs and ballads. Some of his past work has felt bogged down in electronics, but strings and his voice take the center stage here. At times he may have too much of a sappy balladeer feel, but that's who he is and he pulls it off tastefully. My one complaint is I would have preferred, maybe, one more upbeat song and one less slow one, but at the end of the day, this is the best thing he's recorded and I'll be listening to it for a long while.
8.0 / 10
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