Pallet pleases indie ears

In the world of indie music, the anchoring feel of a guitar with well-placed slides, hammer-ons and careful finger work remains rather standard. Although this familiar sound reigns supreme due to its effectiveness in conveying the more intimate sounds of folk artists like Joze Gonzalez and psych-folk artist Devendra Banhart, Owen Pallett (aka Final Fantasy) has opted for a less familiar stringed instrument - the violin.

Interestingly enough, the violin was not Pallett's first instrument. Growing up in a family of ten and raised by his church organist father, Pallett began studying piano as a toddler, composing his first piece by the age of 13. In college, Pallet took up training as a composer of contemporary opera at the University of Toronto. While in school, in order to impress the guys he had crushes on, Pallett began to teach himself the violin. After graduating, Pallett started playing with bands in the Montreal and Toronto area. Eventually he threw together a handful of songs and opened for Patrick Wolf at the Wavelengths Series, a weekly Toronto show. Soon after, Final Fantasy was born.

In addition to Pallett's instrument of choice, it is the complexity of his music which sets him apart from the overabundance of guitar strumming bands which can often blend into each other as one amorphous mass of typical and expected sound - in short, nothing new.

In "This Lamb sells condos," the track opens with a harpsichord and then spills over into the piano and vocals a few measures later. Towards the end of the track, a choir of child-like voices sing, "Nothing to do, nothing to do. Living rent-free is boring tome." With an aptly composed score and traditional components, "This Lamb sells condos" expresses the influence classical music has had on Pallett.

However, other genres of music have had an impact on Pallett as well. "When I was a kid I was a pretty militant classical music freak; then in my teenage years I got really into experimental music," said Pallett in an interview with You Aint No Picasso. And here is where Final Fantasy really stands out. With a multitude of influences, yet a base in classical study, he produces a rare sound that is simultaneously both intellectual and contemporary.

Pallett's live performances are particularly noteworthy. Working with foot pedals on stage, he loops musical phrases to create a layered sound. This enables Pallett to simultaneously play multiple parts of one song. In these live performances one can really appreciate the talent needed to produce the sounds this one-man band is able to create.

With all the emphasis placed on Pallett's musical complexity, it's quite impressive that his voice and lyrical content remain top-notch as well. The subject matter of He Poos Clouds remains quite serious, spanning issues such as an impotent real-estate broker, young and frigid professionals and a Japan-obsessed suicidal named Lazarus.

And yet, despite the serious nature of musical study and lyrical content, Final Fantasy, which derives its name from the famous video game, is more of a joke than a serious life commitment to Pallet. Said Pallet, "But basically what Final Fantasy started out as, and I guess continues to be, is a bit of a joke band or novelty project; which, in my experience has always been the types of bands that people enjoy the most."