The Felice Brothers have returned with Celebration, Florida – an album that is sincerely sinister, oddly beautiful and creepy, at times. It is an album that begs for repeated listens and may be their best to date.
I was first introduced to the Brothers with their 2008 self-titled release and immediately fell in love with their ramshackle Americana sound. Their self-titled album was a raucous experience – full of tall tales and gritty characters – and it makes for great play late at night for those reasons. Their 2009 release, Yonder Is The Clock, was a huge surprise in that it had a consistently quieter run-time, to the point that it was almost unsettling in its focus on themes of alienation and devastation. In explanation for the overall tone of Yonder Is The Clock, a strong argument could be made for the possibility of the Brothers having a case of hangover depression after all the debauchery of their self-titled album but, on Celebration, Florida, The Felice Brothers have returned re-energized with an album full of the horns, accordions, Hammond organs, and the sort of storytelling that defined their earlier work. The album is cinematic in its scope at times, which they acknowledge on the appropriately titled track "Oliver Stone" and (like a good Oliver Stone movie) the album is deliberate, sporadic, violent, beautiful, fast-paced and generally exhausting; especially since it sees the Brothers introducing electronic beats and tempo changes that are not at all characteristic of the Basement Tapes-era sound they are supposed to embody. With the folk/roots revival in full swing right now with bands like Mumford & Sons enjoying huge popularity, it would have been an obvious move to try and cash in but, instead, The Felice Brothers have delivered a record that has more in common with a Tom Waits album than the Bob Dylan/The Band sound for which they are best known. In short, Celebration, Florida is a fantastic record and those brave enough to spend some time with it will find it a rewarding listen.
"Fire At The Pageant" is a great opener and is a ton of fun, even if it is about a corpse walking into town and the ensuing panic that scene would generate. Choruses of screaming children are generally creepy enough, but they are used here to perfectly heighten the sense of panic in the song and to sell its catchy hook. "Container Ship" slows the album down and opens with an eery atmospheric swirl of sound which recalls Yonder Is The Clock until an electronic beat is introduced. That beat comes as a bit of a shock because it is totally unexpected and more reminiscent of Radiohead than Bob Dylan or the Americana genre. "Honda Civic" opens with the familiar accordion sounds of their self-titled album before sharply changing tempo several times; introducing horns and a falsetto chorus. "Ponzi" starts with a killer bass line, and we appear to be in familiar territory before the introduction of the electronic elements which proceed to spin the song out of control. Along with "Oliver Stone,” "Dallas" might be the most straightforward song on the record but, interestingly, they seem to have borrowed the haunting Johnny Cash piano from the American Recordings. "Cus's Catskill Gym" follows and is a great example of the calculated sloppiness that makes The Felice Brothers so endearing and again features out of place tempo changes and choruses of screaming children.
There was a time when I thought that these guys would be a blast to hang out with for a night. I'm rethinking that now (because they scare me a little), but I do admire their integrity. The Felice Brothers might seem like they don't care, but I believe this sloppiness is very calculated and they have delivered a charmingly chaotic mess on Celebration, Florida as a result. While past records have dealt with tales from the past, this one sees them addressing contemporary issues and employing contemporary instrumentation to make their comment. It is a step forward in their development and, while it is challenging, they make it without apology; as evidenced on "River Jordan" where Ian sings "fuck my whole career" before the song comes to a violent and chaotic close. Celebration, Florida is an album that will age well, that will continue to reveal new and exciting elements and, while it won't be something I put on to get a party started, it will be something that is in my regular rotation for some time.
Artist:
www.thefelicebrothers.com/
www.myspace.com/thefelicebrothers
www.facebook.com/thefelicebrothers
www.twitter.com/#!/felicebrothers
Album:
Celebration, Florida is out now. Buy it here on Amazon .
