They may hail from a town with the most rock ‘n’ roll name on the planet (Sparta, Tennessee), but you won’t be surprised to hear that The Features mine the same seam of no-name New Wave that has been such a success for Hot Hot Heat. So many bands are working in this territory now that journo’s the world over are probably trying to figure out how to program their word processors to churn out identi-kit reviews automatically; to make an impact you need to be doing something really fucking different, anything, as long as it attacks the ears. Opening track ‘The Beginning’ doesn’t have it, nor do the next three tracks, relying as they do on increasingly ubiquitous Count Five keyboards and Itchy ‘n’ Scratchy guitars; it’s the final track, the throwaway ‘Stark White Stork Approaching’ that hints at what might be: sounding like a drunken Liam Gallagher tackling The Flaming Lips before falling off the stage and burping. Like The Features for their ambition, and the love will - probably - follow.
 
Suzie Q

Artist: The Features
Title: The Beginning EP
Label: Fierce Panda
Websites: The Features | Fierce Panda
Release date: September 22nd
Rating: +++

The Features have just signed a worldwide record deal with Universal and are just putting the finishing touches to their debut album. So, here you are kids, this is the final chance to say you were there before they were famous. Yeah, you remember when they were releasing stuff through Fierce Panda.

Hailing from Sparta, Tennessee, The Features blast out one of the strangest pop noises I have heard in a long time. This is high octane, synth-fuelled guitar madness. When playing live frontman Matt Pelham unintentionally throws himself into drum kits and guitar amps. Unintentionally? Surely not. Well, if you'd heard them you wouldn't question it. (AM)