The Featues - Some Kind Of Salvation Review
Posted by Paul Hollingsworth on 09.12.2009
The Kings of Leon's favorite band returns with a fresh helping of southern flavored power pop. Does the music promise salvation, damnation or a bit of both?
"I'm the king of indecision/sitting on my throne/and if you ask me my opinion/I'll tell you I don't know' sings Features front man, Matthew Pelham on "Concrete", one of the standout tracks on the band's recently released album, from The Kings of Leon's record label 429 records. The lyrics may be autobiographical, but they may just as easily refer to the band's broad influences. It could answer the typical 'What sort of music inspired you to want to make music?' asked of all bands. And the answer, according to the songs on the album, is pretty much everything that's come before.
The album begins with the carnival-like sounds of "Whatever Gets You By", which sort of reinforces the point that the album is coming at you from all musical directions and not necessarily the ones you'd expect from a Tennessee band. The opener fades directly into "The Drawing Board" which borrows a horn section and sing along style chorus from The White Stripes, mixed a bit with the lyrical acrobatics of Modest Mouse. The band also spends a bit of time with The Flaming Lips ("GMF") and shares a moment with The Arcade Fire with the symphonic sounding "The Temporary Blues". There's also an Eric Clapton like guitar riff on "Wooden Heart." Another band might not be able to work all these elements into any sort of cohesion, but The Features manage not only to not drown in their sea of influences, but keep their heads (and their music) safely above (or at least level) with them.
"The Gates of Hell" acts as a sort of musical intermission, neatly splitting the album between the anything goes, carnival atmosphere of the first half with the more refined and singular vision of the second half. It's allows the listener a moment to catch his breath, before the airy guitars descend into a whirlwind of noise and feedback. On the other side of this musical whirlwind, the band returns with "Still Lost", which sounds much more like a southern band 'ought' to sound. Boogie-woogie piano? Check. Blue grass filtered through an electric guitar? Check. Hammond Organ? Check. Lyrics about the common man? Again, check. This song moves the album back below the Mason-Dixon line after the first half was spent wandering ( although wandering in a joyous, thoughtful way) through Yankee (and British) points of musical interest.
"Lions" and "Off Track" take this southern, country-ish sound back into time to the early 80's. If David Byrne had been born in Nashville, he might have recorded "Lions" with The Talking Heads. The bluesy "All I Ask" features some of the best guitar work on the album, and sounds like a dirtier, rawer version of a Band of Horses song. (Complete with a wandering piano line which drifts in and out of the melody like a wandering phantom.) Then, as if to tie the whole album together in one neat package, a harmony of Madness-like horns return us to the carnival inspired sounds of the opening track. (This album was originally self-released earlier in the year, and the bonus track "Now You Know" was added when it was released on 429records.)
Complete Track Listing:
1. Whatever Gets You By
2. The Drawing Board
3. foundation's Cracked
4. GMF(Genetically Modified Fable)
5. The Temporary Blues
6. Wooden Heart
7. The Gates Of hell
8. Still Lost
9. Baby's Hammer
10. Lions
11. Concrete
12. Off Track
13. All I Ask
14. Now You Know (Bonus Track)
The 411: This is a successful album on every level. The music is fresh, the lyrics are top shelf, and the band (which has been together since the late 90's) is tight and focused. Some of the tunes will remind you of other bands, but because the band's influences are so eclectic, they remain safely away from outright musical plagiarism. Fans of bands as diverse as Modest Mouse, Big Star and The Shins are sure to find some tunes on this album that will soon become favorites.
