As I get older I often like to pretend that I may have accomplished something worth noting in my life. With a listen to Patrick Wolf's Wind in the Wires however, I am forced to acknowledge that in reality there are far more amazing things being done by people even younger than me. Except for a contribution by his father and sister on a couple tracks, Wolf can be credited with nearly every aspect of the album's release including performance and arrangement. While there are certainly others capable of this feat, it should be noted that Wolf doesn't stick to a bass/guitar/drums arrangement; his list of instrumental duties include violin, viola, ukelele, piano, and reed organ plus he also takes care of all programming and production duties.

Every track seems to have been meticulously crafted and with each listen reveal new detail. Headphones expose layers of keyboard and violin melodies intertwining in the background accented with a variety of programmed sounds. The fog-like ability of the tracks on Wind in the Wires to envelop the listener parallels Wolf's frequent use of references to the wind and sea. In addition to the coastal characteristics, he utilizes the imagery of birds to enhance the album's theme of a struggle for freedom as most clearly exhibited on the opener "The Libertine". Whether Wolf has won his own battles for freedom, only he can say, but one thing is certain, with his amazing ability and attention to detail, Wolf has crafted an album that offers the rest of us the freedom to explore an album unlike any other.