| |
Order the new CD, Some Kind Of Salvation by The Features and receive a limited* autographed 11" x 17" Poster with purchase!
About The Features:
It's been four years since Nashville, TN's best kept secret, The Features, snuck onto our speakers with their critically lauded debut, Exhibit A. The record strengthened their already rabid hometown cult following and won over critics in both the U.S. & U.K. press while shows with Kings of Leon, the Raconteurs and The Walkmen and sets at Redding & Leeds festivals showed off their brazenly flawless live show. Quite suddenly, The Features disappeared and left us wondering what had happened to the Southern four piece who were bound to become our next favorite band. But now, with trademark pop hooks and stellar songwriting in tow, The Features are returning this summer with an off-kilter masterpiece of a sophomore album, Some Kind of Salvation.
The Features formed as middle-schoolers in Sparta, Tennessee, a small Southern town that boasts bluegrass picker Lester Flatt as its claim to fame. The group of classic rock-loving adolescents had big ideas while sitting in the school cafeteria, but they hadn't acquired instruments yet. Due to the lack of a proper drum set, the Features first generation percussion section was beat box, and no one was eager to play bass. Bassist Roger Dabbs remembers the band's sales tactics. "They were like, 'man, you gotta love the bass!" he says. "'Listen to this bass.' They put on some AC/DC and I was kind of like...'where's the bass?' It was completely drum and guitar heavy. But I ended up really loving the instrument."
After high school, founding members Dabbs and Matt Pelham relocated to the college town of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, in the mid-'90s, eventually recruiting current drummer Rollum Hass, a fan of the band who already knew most of the Feature' drum parts upon auditioning. The band never went without devoted fans, and their kinetic individuality garnered attention from industry folks who believed them to be "the next big thing." Their jumping live show includes a far-reaching catalogue of beloved songs, among many new ones. Yet, the question remains, why do The Features remain unknown to the majority of the indie culture? The answer could possibly have roots as far back as the nineties, when the band was constantly bearing the brunt of bad luck and bad timing, being led astray by indie record labels with empty promises with no recorded music on the market to show for it.
The Features' official debut Exhibit A was released on Universal in 2004 and was met with astonishment and widespread praise in the good ol' fashioned print media circles, but for one reason or another, The Features remained under the radar. The major label deal allowed the band to tour extensively, joining the Kings of Leon on the road for their U.S. and U.K. tours. "The touring was the best part of that whole experience," Dabbs says. "That is the only time I can say in our history that we've actually been able to just play music. Every other time we've had to have part time jobs or full time jobs working the music into it. I think the ultimate of what all of us have wanted is just to play music."
Some Kind of Salvation combines the eclectic, folksy sensibility of the band's EP, The Beginning (2003, Fierce Panda), with the driving, live energy of Exhibit A. The new album also expands on the band's self-released EP Contrast (2006), which experimented with new soundscapes and included the band's first collaboration with keyboardist Mark Bond. His subtle textures added a new sonic fullness to the band's vintage, melodic pop songs. "As far as I'm concerned, what Mark played on Some Kind of Salvation was the glue," says Haas. "Mark is a songwriter, so he tends to look at the big picture. He is very much aware of what's going on around him and he plays off of that. Honestly, everyone in the band is good at that, which is rare."
Hass' dynamic and instinctual drumming provides the foundation for the new songs, while Roger Dabbs' inventive yet mindful bass lines boost the collective sound. The end result is an eclectic and warm group of songs that incorporates a myriad of musical landscapes, from synthesizers and group harmonies to horns and strings. Ultimately, the crux of The Features is Matthew Pelham's songwriting.
"Matt is just a great writer...he writes lyrics that people can relate to," says Dabbs. "He writes everything so melodically, and he's got a really different way of approaching things. He just fascinates me lyrically, he really does." Many of Pelham's lyrics are personal. "Probably too personal," says Pelham. "I'm not very good at writing stuff that I don't know anything about," he explains. "There's so many people that write about abstract things...you don't understand what they're talking about at all. I like that stuff, but I kind of prefer songs that are a little more straightforward."
With the release of Some Kind of Salvation, there's a collective sense of pride circulating within the Features. Their pride stems not only from their musical accomplishments, but also from the fact that they did it all on their own terms. It's evident from listening to the new record that the Features are a band poised to move forward - able to toss aside their inhibitions, pool their grandest thoughts and work together as one to create music that lasts. "We've always tried to put out records and play music that's timeless," says Pelham. "Hopefully what we've done will hold up." |
