Someone who's been a fan longer and will actually put some thought into it should review the EP first. I'm looking at JC.....

The Beginning EP

My writing is shit. There are other people here who could do a good job, though.

For some resason it's hard for me to write reviews for stuff I really like. I just come up with things like "It's really really good. You'll love it...really." I'm better at writing negative reviews.

I would like to nominate Wiyum for the honor.

I added a review. I probably should have waited, since I just woke up from a nap. But, I think it's adequate enough.

I'm honored. My writing on music has never been my strongest suit, but I may well throw in my $.02.

Will

Posted earlier today to Amazon.com. May take a while to show up. May end up being cut. Who knows?

"Beginning" a tasty musical appetizer... What's for dessert?
By Keith Hautala

The title of this outstanding little CD is somewhat misleading, as it is actually the Features’ second.

“The Beginning” thankfully marks the end of a long recording hiatus--with the exception of a single, the classic “Thursday,” in 1999--following the Features’ self-titled debut in 1996.

“The Beginning” began as a self-produced EP in 2001, available only at the band’s club shows. After several independent pressings and a British release on Fierce Panda Records, Universal picked up the record for U.S. distribution. It’s about time.

With just six short songs, “The Beginning” packs an awful lot of joyous rocking and beautiful pop balladry into less than a lunch break’s worth of time. (I often crank this on my car stereo to get a Features fix while chasing down some fast food.)

The subtext for the record is a different kind of beginning, that of lead singer/songwriter Matt Pelham’s family. Easing in with the gentle “Stark White Stork Approaching,” we hear Pelham sing to his as-yet unborn twin daughters as he watches them on ultrasound, “kicking one another in the head.” Somehow, Pelham makes this sound rather sweet.

But the gentleness quickly fades, as the rock march “Walk You Home” kicks in with the aggressive drum banging of Rollum Haas. Haas easily plays at least as well as any two other rock drummers currently alive. His skills are neatly matched by bassist Roger Dabbs, who doubles the beat and fills in with generous bass hooks. Self-taught keyboard wizard Parrish Yaw gives the Features a distinctive sound with his impressive array of analog and digital synthesizers. Pelham’s earnest vocals and straightforward electric guitar round out the mix, for an upbeat track that never fails to raise my pulse.

Lest you get all rocked out too soon, the Features slide back into low gear for the third track. “Bumble Bee” is a catchy love song that even the musically inept can hum along with before the first verse ends. It manages to steer just to the left of corny, as Pelham’s romantic sentimentality is overcome by his pop sensibility. A haunting, minor-key bridge balances the sweetness nicely.

Back to the rock. “The Beginning (Week One)” captures the manic exhilaration of new love in an orgy of musical energy. It features distorted guitar, heavy drums, a driving bass line and great keyboard riffs, all turned up to 11. This song demands to be played loud and sung—-no, shouted—-along with.

“Two by Two,” another song inspired by the arrival of Pelham’s twins, is a standout pop single. Pelham’s lyrics convey a sense of optimism in the face of uncertainty. “We can work it all out,” he sings to the mother of his newborn children. “It’s not what it seems. Holding on to your love, holding on to my dreams.”

The EP ends, all too soon, with “The Way It’s Meant to Be,” a different kind of love song. Dedicated to “one happy accident, two rays of light,” it is as hard rocking as a song about new fatherhood could ever hope to be. Now it is Pelham who finds himself kicked in the head. “Gonna tuck you into tonight,” he sings, “fall asleep right by your side, take a swift kick in the head, then you push me out of bed. Still I’ll love you for all time, ‘cause I’m yours and you are mine. And that’s the way it’s meant to be.”

If “The Beginning” seems too short, the remedy is simple enough: Hit ‘Play’ again.

The Features’ real beginning is a matter of legend, but it goes something like this:

Sometime in the mid-1990s, five high school kids from the modest village of Sparta, Tenn., decided to start a rock and roll band.

With a combined two and a half weeks of musical training, a couple of toy guitars and a borrowed drum kit, the group christened themselves “Xanthlick Zisters,” and set out to conquer the Sparta teen music scene. This much they accomplished with little effort, after working up passable covers of mid-90s alternatop-40 hits.

The kids from Sparta kept at it. Eventually, they started to sound pretty damn good. They changed their name to the Features, inspired by a sign in a donut shop.

Not long after the beginning, the Features started performing their own material, crafting dozens upon dozens of original pop songs with tight musical hooks, clever lyrics and a relentless 4/4 beat.

Along the way, the Features all went to college together, dropped out together, put out a CD, lost a guitarist and replaced a drummer. They built up a ravenous local fan base, as well as a catalog of more than 100 original songs.

Today, the Features’ home turf stretches from Murfreesboro to Nashville, but their fans can be found in Atlanta, New York and Chicago, and even as far away as London, UK.

The charter members of the Features Fan Club are entering their 30s, but they still come to every show, if they can find babysitters. That isn’t always easy, as the band continues to attract new fans in their teens.

The Features’ success, as they have known it so far, was accomplished without a record contract or a video on MTV. Now that they have both, they may finally be able to quit their day jobs.

-end-

Good stuff, but the tracklisting is different on this release.

Here's mine.



The Features sound like: the White Stripes, the Hives, Jet, the Thrills, Dressy Bessy, Elephant 6, the Kinks, Talking Heads, the Cars, REM, etc.

FIN


I think khautala did a better job than me.

(Edited by YaDaDaDa at 6:26 am on Apr. 18, 2004)

Thanks, YDD. I was looking at the old track listing. Keith

I'm glad I finally found someone who agrees with me.

Actually, I wouldn't know. I haven't heard them. I just put together a bunch of the bands from the tiny mix tapes review.

I recently started listening to them and I see some similarities. Mainly just the poppiness.

I was kidding. I thought that was the band from the list LEAST like the Features. They are okay, though.

I'd say the White Stripes are less like the Features.