Love Songs for Robots is the first track on Canadian indie rock band Patrick Watson's fifth studio album of the same name. The album was released in May 2015.
Official Music Video
- Year of release: 2015
- Type of music release: Album Track
- From album: Love Songs for Robots
- Genre: Indie rock
- Label: Domino
What music magazines wrote about the song 'Love Songs for Robots'
The Guardian
"The album title refers to the emotion that differentiates us from the machines we use every day, and Watson invests lyrics such as “Don’t feel at home in this world any more” with gossamer, floaty melancholy."[1]
Stereogum
"This is the most Bon Iver that Watson has ever sounded, as his typical piano-driven song form breaks into a lengthy, abstract guitar solo."[2]
PopMatters
PopMatters wrote about the album opener track Love Songs for Robots:
"(...) immediately draws you in with an encompassing, eerie atmosphere before classic Patrick Watson (referring to the lead singer and the band) vocals creep up on you along with a subtle electronic feel, engulfing listeners from the very first note."[3]
Paste Magazine
Paste Magazine rated the opening track Love Songs for Robots together with the last album track Places You Will Go as the two strongest songs on the album and finds similarities in both tracks:
"The album’s two strongest songs seem very intentionally placed at its poles: the opening title track and the closing “Places You Will Go” arrive and depart with an eerie similarity."[4]
NPR
The fact that machines play an important role for Patrick Watson can be clearly seen in the lyrics and themes of his music, as NPR noted in a review of the album and the title track:
"(...) he made a bicycle's inner workings an essential component of 2009's "Beijing," for example, while Love Songs For Robots opens with a song containing a line about how "your nuts and bolts are all over the ground.""[5]
Interview Magazine
For the video shoot, Patrick Watson and video directors Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski were inspired by sculptures and the Triadic Ballet by German designer and choreographer Oskar Schlemmer. Interview Magazine wrote about the exclusive video premiere for the track Love Songs for Robots:
"For this project, the directors took inspiration from sculptures and ballets by the German avant-garde artist Oskar Schlemmer."[6]
God Is In The TV
"The opening title track immediately guides you into this heavenly world of sunrise aesthetics and it remains tranquil even when his voice rises in enthusiasm with its understated bubbled melodic blues guitar, patient acoustic plucks and euphoric synths."[7]
DIY Magazine
"With its gently throbbing electronics and fluttering organic percussion, this is pretty much trademark Patrick Watson territory, with recent outings having shown a shift towards more typical song-structures, to great effect."[8]
Diffuser.fm
The quiet spots on the album Love Songs for Robots, which Diffuser.fm described in the album review, also apply to the rather quieter title track:
"With its gently throbbing electronics and fluttering organic percussion, this is pretty much trademark Patrick Watson territory, with recent outings having shown a shift towards more typical song-structures, to great effect."[9]
References
[1] Simpson, D. (2015, May 7). Patrick Watson: Love Songs for Robots review – gossamer melancholy. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/may/07/patrick-watson-love-songs-for-robots-album-review
[2] White, C. (2015, February 24). Patrick Watson – “Love Songs For Robots” Stereogum. https://www.stereogum.com/1783071/patrick-watson-love-songs-for-robots/news/
[3] Mills, A. (2015, June 5). Patrick Watson: Love Songs for Robots, PopMatters. PopMatters. https://www.popmatters.com/193623-patrick-watson-love-songs-for-robots-2495528675.html
[4] Swedlund, E. (2015, May 12). Patrick Watson: Love Songs For Robots. Paste Magazine. https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/patrick-watson/patrick-watson-love-songs-for-robots
[5] Thompson, S. (2015, May 3). Review: Patrick Watson, “Love Songs For Robots.” NPR. https://www.npr.org/2015/05/03/403601251/first-listen-patrick-watson-love-songs-for-robots
[6] Mahot, L. (2015, August 13). Exclusive Video Premiere: ‘Love Songs for Robots,’ Patrick Watson. Interview Magazine. https://www.interviewmagazine.com/music/exclusive-video-premiere-love-songs-for-robots-patrick-watson
[7] Hobbs, M. (2015, May 4). Patrick Watson - Love Song For Robots (Domino Recordings) - God Is In The TV. God Is In The TV. https://www.godisinthetvzine.co.uk/2015/05/04/patrick-watson-love-song-for-robots-domino-recordings/
[8] Boorman, G. (2015, May 11). Patrick Watson - Love Songs for Robots review • DIY Magazine. https://diymag.com/review/album/patrick-watson-love-songs-for-robots-album-review
[9] Reyes-Kulkarni, S. (2015, May 17). Album review: Patrick Watson, “Love Songs for Robots.” Diffuser.fm. https://diffuser.fm/album-review-patrick-watson-love-songs-for-robots/