Foley McKenna Band – Moving My Feet

Foley McKenna Band – Moving My Feet / 2007 Self / 5 Tracks / http://www.thefmb.net /

“Kimberley” is the first track on “Moving My Feet”. It starts out with a soulful set of guitars that do not easily fall into a genre category. The vocals slide in soon after, and blend together the work of Adam Duritz (Counting Crows) with Matchbox 20. There seems to be a little more in the way of a blues influence during “Kimberley” that distinguishes the Foley McKenna Band from others on the tour circuit. Furthermore, the vocals achieve a level of quality that approaches that of an Elvis Costello at points. Overall, “Kimberley” is a great introduction to the Foley McKenna Band, and is one that could conceivably make it as the band’s first single.

The opening to “Brick Wall” is bombastic but gradually moves into a slower style. The vocals then take the lead and help the band create a track that further firms up their nineties pop style. Note that there is not a dated style to the Foley McKenna Band; they have enough in the way of skill that they can reinvigorate what I thought was a dead musical style. “Brick Wall” also increases the stock of the Foley McKenna Band in my eyes due to the fact that the vocals shift styles slightly, to approach a more Dave Matthews type of sound. The instrumentation present during “Brick Wall” even change themselves up, to reflect influences that range from Rusted Root to Soul Asylum. The hump track on “Moving My Feet” is “The Wheels”. “The Wheels” is a track that offers listeners a clean slate for what they should assume about the Foley McKenna Band.

This track has much more of a country style present to its’ instrumentation, even if the vocals gradually go back to their nineties alternative roots. Despite the fact that “Moving My Feet” only has five tracks, the EP allows listeners to hear the variety of sounds and styles that the Foley McKenna Band is capable of. The jazzier instrumentation of “My Friend” provides further evidence to that point, linking together a flirtatious bass with sizzling guitars to give individuals a completely different sound to chew on. The Foley McKenna Band will be able to climb and crawl the way up the totem pole until that time when they can chart on mtvU or a similar media outlet. Get this EP and hear as they evolve considerably through the years. Give them a go.

Top Track: My Friend

Rating: 6.4/10