A neglected pop band
06/14/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This was felt's last album, winding up the 1980's. Ten albums and ten singles in 10 years is how the story is usually told. There seems to be a renewed interest in felt due to their name being dropped by Belle and Sebastian, a good thing in my opinion. I like both bands. Chances are if you like B&S you'll like this, you can pick up elements of felt in their sound and in the iconography they use.This record is the least sparse sounding of all the felt records and production wise sounds the most like B&S. The pedal steel, fender rhodes piano, mellotron, hammond organ and arp string ensemble add nice touches outlining and enhancing lawrence's songs. Lawrence's voice sounds a bit like lou reed and little like bob dylan. There's a nice mixture of mid tempo and upbeat numbers here, the general mood is melancholic but without a descent into self pity so common with indie bands of today. Felt was a literate and intelligent pop band, their music and album sleeves created a world that was both mysterious and compelling. Its recommended."