The label \u201calternative country\u201d gets thrown around an awful lot these days, almost as much as the word \u201cindie.\u201d\u00a0 The definition is imprecise and perhaps overused, as it should describe music that is rooted in Americana but pushes the envelope in a handful of different directions.\u00a0 The Felice Brothers \u2013 a quintet from the Catskills mountains of New York \u2013 followed their \u201908 self-titled album with Yonder Is The Clock<\/i>, <\/i>a mixture of Americana, late-era Bob Dylan, and an abundantly used accordion and horn section that most definitely fits the alt-country definition. <\/p>\n
The Felice Brothers seem to most effectively exploit their songwriting abilities in tracks with diverse instrumentation and upbeat, loosely structured rhythms.\u00a0 \u201cPenn Station,\u201d the first of such tracks on Yonder<\/i>, is a magnificent symphony of folk rock, with rowdy accordions and an array of percussive instruments bouncing off laissez-faire vocal harmonies.\u00a0 It also features another common thread in the album:\u00a0 Ian Felice\u2019s scratchy, screechy vocals crooning curious lyrics (\u201cOh how sweetly I do sleep on the bathroom tile where the porter sleeps \/ With a nickel in my hind like the start of Bethlehem.\u201d)\u00a0 The onomatopoetic train sounds and sudden increase in tempo to close out the track is pretty inspired, too.<\/p>\n
\u201cRun Chicken Run,\u201d which originally turned my ears to the band, mirror this style, with a free-wheelin\u2019 spirit and prominent accordions and fiddles.\u00a0 Again, imperfect rhythms and harmonies and oddball lyrics create an inscrutably appealing atmosphere.\u00a0 Each chorus is punctuated with the attempted adage, \u201cChickens don\u2019t get no life after death.\u201d\u00a0 I can\u2019t decide whether that\u2019s genius or nonsense.\u00a0 \u201cMemphis Flu\u201d shares this style as well, despite its bleak account of disease outbreak and mortality.<\/p>\n
After listening to Yonder<\/i> in its entirety, you wonder why they didn\u2019t return to this formula more often.\u00a0 The Felice Brothers stray from this style more often than not, instead opting for slower, more deliberate ballads.\u00a0 The somber \u201cSailor Song\u201d begins with a Randy Newman-esque slow piano motif before giving way to whispering vocals describing a sailor\u2019s descent into the cold, dead ocean.\u00a0 \u201cBoy From Lawrence County\u201d showcases the band\u2019s emphasis on imagery-heavy lyrics and storytelling, all behind James Felice\u2019s omnipresent accordion.\u00a0 Both interesting listens, but you find yourself pining for more upbeat rhythms of tracks past.<\/p>\n
Similarly, other songs like \u201cCooperstown\u201d and \u201cAmbulance Man\u201d tread slowly and wearily through verse after verse, repeating its musical phrases perhaps one too many times.\u00a0 The album ends on a beautiful tragedy of a song, \u201cRise And Shine,\u201d with piano accompanying the story of a man reminiscing and bidding farewell to an old dying friend, sighing hopefully, \u201cWe won\u2019t be changed, we\u2019ll remain as one \/ Please rise and shine, old pal of mine \/ Your day has come.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Felice Brothers strike an interesting chord with Yonder Is The Clock<\/i>, at times convincing you that they have the folk-rock energy, smart quirkiness, and off-the-wall instrumentation to earn them must-see status when they tour through your city.\u00a0 But it turns out to be a bit of a tease; that energy is just a little too sparse on this album, leaving you with a listening experience that\u2019s a little emptier than it could\u2019ve been.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":30730,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"artist":[8741],"rating":[5612],"class_list":["post-42404","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-the-felice-brothers","rating-rating-b-minus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/42404","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42404"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/42404\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30730"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42404"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42404"},{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=42404"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=42404"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}