Posted on: August 12, 2010 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

The beginning of a song like “Frantic” is fairly standard, but then The Lovely Feathers kick into high gear, almost taking a punk like approach to think. This mixture of emo and indie rock, a number of different vocals and styles make this song a perfect introduction to the band. There is just not a referent that individuals can latch onto; this is not an example of a band that is trying to ape Against Me! or Wilco. What The Lovely Feathers do do with “Hind Hind Legs” is create a fun romp through their thirteen tracks on this album.

The Lovely Feathers have a lot in common in style (but not a general sound necessarily) with “The Life Pursuit”-era Belle and Sebastian and The Boy Least Likely To. The dance punk means “Synchronicity”-era Policy sound of “In The Valley” goes into the realm of The Sounds for pure dancability. The vocals blend The Bravery and Duran Duran, but there is an intensity present that cannot be matched with any prior track. The distorted strings that take a major part in the bridge to the track give the song enough in the way of fuel to blast on well past the track’s runtime.

By taking a note or two from all the European dance stars like Gigi D’Agostino and Cassius for “In The Valley”, The Lovely Feathers show to their listeners that they bag of tricks is fairly deep. Again changing their style for “Wrong Choice”, The Lovely Feathers mix the emo style of late-nineties Deep Elm with a grunge style that would make Nirvana and Tad happy. While “Hind Hind Legs” has a total of thirteen tracks, the band only needs about four (the equivalent of an EP) tracks to succeed in creating a style that is their own. Smart, fun, and never what listeners expect, The Lovely Feathers are the blueprint for where indie rock should attempt to go to keep things interesting. With the genre coalescing into the plain indie rock of bands like Interpol, the retro-rock of The Strokes, and the dance punk of The Bravery, The Lovely Feathers keep the genre open to further innovation. Here’s to hoping that The Lovely Feathers continue on with their mystical and magical journey, and fail to take up the cause of the big music labels and bands until that time when their time in the spotlight is over.

Top Tracks: In The Valley, Frantic

Rating: 6.5/10

The Lovely Feathers – Hind Hind Legs / 2006 Equator / http://www.thelovelyfeathers.com / http://www.equatormusic.ca / Reviewed 23 April 2006

[JMcQ]

Leave a Comment