Late to the game

The Lovely Feathers - Wrong Choice

Ok, I realize I'm arriving at this conclusion rather late, and that if you google "The Lovely Feathers" you end up with a handful of other blogs that have already posted about them, BUT, this beautiful, sunny Sunday afternoon, listening to The Lovely Feathers was just what I needed.

The facts you can learn about these guys are that the band is Ted Suss (Drums), Noah Bernamoff (Bass), Mark Kupfert (Guitar), Richard Yanofsky (Vocals, Guitar), Daniel Suss (Keyboards, Vox), they're from Montreal, they feature members of Wolf Parade and Arcade Fire, they had big shows in Austin at this year's SXSW and here in NYC, they've been blogged about a bunch, and their new album, Hind Hind Legs was released a couple of weeks ago, and it was produced by Jimmy Shaw (Metric and Broken Social Scene), and Drew Malamud (the Dears, Stars, DFA1979)

What you can learn by listening to this band is that they are totally bonkers. Seriously, there is clear evidence of mad genius here. At times, (this may become quite a list so bear with me) they sound as explosively poppy as the Unicorns, as abstract and difficult as Modest Mouse, as jamming and obtuse the Pixies, as timely as Weezer's blue album debut was in 1994 (or the Yeah Yeah Yeahs first album in 2003), as funny, and at the same time, as dour as Arcade Fire. Those are big claims, and I am not saying they are all these things all at the same time. However, they show these utterly brilliant flashes throughout the thirteen tracks, that, once you hear the record, you won't want to stop it playing. It is a slice of indie rock magic. I mean, come on, the strings, then the synths sections on "In The Valley?" The sing-along and Flutes in "Photo Corners?" Are you kidding me?

No, they're not. I really like this album, and I think you'll find a lot of other people feel the same way about it too. Visit their Myspace page to hear more of the songs, then once you're hooked, go and buy it.

Hind Hind Legs should be at your local record stores by now, and it is available on Amazon, on Insound, or available for download on iTunes. Get to it if, like me, you're late to the party, seriously. It is great. They're playing all across Canada in May, then will be in the US in June if you want to see them live (check their site for further tour info).