The most romantic song of the year

Patrick Wolf is an odd fish.

Early in his career, he was a contrary and confrontational pop poseur. Legend has it he once jumped off stage and drop-kicked a journalist in the chest because he wasn't paying attention. Rumour aside, there's a rather shocking YouTube clip of him throwing a violent tantrum at a German festival in 2009, after his set was cut short.

But the Patrick Wolf of 2011 is a changed man. He's engaged to be married to long-term boyfriend William Pollock, and his new album, Lupercalia, is unashamedly, nakedly romantic. His new-found serenity isn't just down to love. At 27, he's no longer the petulant teenager who ran away from home to "become the male Christina Aguilera". And, he says, a recent course of psychotherapy helped him find balance in his personal and professional life.

Musically, this has resulted in a lush, orchestral pop album. Lupercalia is florid with harps and ukeleles and strings. Patrick even taught himself to play an obscure Armeian woodwind instrument called the duduk for good measure.

First single The City was a soaring and defiant declaration of love. The new record House is an operatic sweep of domestic contentment: "I love that here you live with me / Gives me the greatest peace I've ever known." What a heart-warming sentiment, eh readers?

For good measure, the video contains a Toucan.

Patrick Wolf - House

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