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August 15, 2005
An absolute value of engine [updated]
Feathers - Grandmother Constellation Fade Away Into the Earth
Based on a recommendation from Orbis Quintus a little while back, I went into Philly to see Feathers play on Saturday night. They did not disappoint. 7 people on stage (there are 8 in the band, apparently, not sure where the other member was), swapping instruments on every song, 5 of them harmonizing together at different points, songs a mish-mash of late night outdoor hymns, Espers-ish lace-lined ballads, deep and entrenched Southern rock, noise and metal flourishes just for the fun of it, hot sitar riffs (!), and all of it gorgeous and very moving. The song they played at the end of their set just killed- it was ten minutes long, started off as a tender acoustic number and ended with ecstatic waves of noise washing down over the crowd. The band all seemed to be having a great time, smiling and laughing- it would have been nice to hear what they said between songs but 1) the sound wasn't great and 2) there was an industrial fan right behind my head and a bunch of drunken jackasses braying on about some company party they went to. Plus this couple in front of me (like pretty much standing on my toes) who felt the need to kiss and fondle each other every 2.5 seconds was a little distracting. There would be a small respite for beer drinking (they barely watched the bands), then the girl would stare longingly (piercingly, psychotically) at the guy's neck or ear or whatever until he looked at her. Would've been a little easier to ignore if the girl's hair didn't keep whipping around and hitting me in the face every time she so much as exhaled. Anyway.
'Grandmother Constellation Fade Away into the Earth' is pretty representative of Feathers' sound, as much as any one song can be really. They're extremely versatile (obviously, with almost 10 members playing like 5 different instruments each), turning on a dime from Incredible String Band cooing to Amon Duul-esque headfucking jams in the space of a minute or two. 'Grandmother Constellation...' definitely reminds me a little bit of the more explicitly melodic songs of Wooden Wand and the Vanishing Voice (or esp. of the Wooden Wand solo album), in that it's got that same wide open feel to it, running down hills, rolling around in the dirt, yelling out for friends to come play. They're one of the most exciting bands I've heard/seen in a while, and I'll bet their debut album becomes a big hit with the Banhart + Newsom contingent; they're a little bit more into their own thing than either of those two, but they've definitely got loads of songwriting talent too. Their LP should be pretty wild...
For now, Feathers only have one really available release (the Gnomeozoic EP is waaaaaay out of print), and that's what this song is taken from- the "Tour Paint" EP that the band's been selling at shows. So go see them on tour- they're playing next with Sufjan on 8/20 at the Bowery Ballroom. P.S. Greg (sitar player) from Feathers stopped by to say their album will be released very soon, on vinyl, in an edition of 1000. I know Time-Lag usually carries their stuff, so look out for it there!
Posted by Kevin at August 15, 2005 01:56 AM
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Comments
greg of feathers (sitar, percussion)...Hello! and Thank You for the wonderful review!! The first (Vinyl Baby!!) lp (edition of 1000) will be released momentarily...thank you again for your kindness and we hope we will see you again in the future or the past.
feathers family.....
Posted by: greg-feathers at August 16, 2005 11:12 PM
Hey Greg, thanks so much for stopping by! That's good news about the vinyl, I know a lot of people (myself included) have been looking forward to hearing the album.
Posted by: Kevin at August 17, 2005 11:57 AM