So what are your thoughts on the new EP?

Curses! I've only heard "Wooden Heart" and "Contrast." I'll be able to vote accurately on the 27th, after I've bought it. "Contrast" will be hard to beat, though.

Guillotine pretty much rips my heart out everytime i hear it. **hugs matt p**

"Wooden Heart," clearly.

this is way too hard, but i went with guillotine. because today its my favorite. all the songs are fantastic, i had a joyous heart attack when i heard commotion for the first time. it'd be impossible to be more happy with these guys.

"I Will Wander" is clearly the best on the album.

I went for "Wooden Heart" because it's amazing live, and I think the lyrics are cute. I don't like the recorded version as much, but still good. It was a tough call between it and "Commotion". I could do without "I Will Wander".

The intro into "Wooden Heart" is perfect! What tipped the scales toward "Commotion" is the way Matt sings "alright" after each chorus... afterall, it's the little things that matter most.

Ohh, and "I Will Wander" - I absolutely hate that they toned town the disco feel it once had. That being said, I have grown to listen to the EP version.

Yeah, the intro/transition in "Wooden Heart' is what makes it so much better live. I wish it were like that on the EP, but I guess that just makes it more special live. I guess "Commotion" is more my style, so I should have voted for it. The "alright" part you mentioned is the best. I never have cared for "I Will Wander" that much. When it first starts, I'm like "ooh, I like this." But, once the chorus starts, I'm like, "ooh, I do not like this." I like the guitar, but other than that...

Okay, I'm done.

Mark's keyboard part on Commotion is brilliant.

I voted for "I Will Wander" because I have played it more than any song according to iTunes.

I feel the material for this is OK, but it is not as good as what we were thinking was going to be the new album last fall. I hope that they're just saving all that for a later release. Why else would they have left an older song like "Mosis Ptosis" off of this EP?

I'd kill to do a video for "Wooden Heart"... My son keeps playing it over and over again, so it's really sunk in.

"2 Daddy, 2!!!"

(Edited by Peace Frog at 9:44 pm on Sep. 20, 2006)

It's the best sounding recording they've done. I went with Wander, but Contrast and Wooden Heart are close seconds.

I'm diggin' the entire album but, this week it's Guillotine. Plus I hear the potential for a clap in there. I'm sure it'll change next week.

(+) Great production. Love the up front vocals. Good to hear the other boys singing BGVs.

(-) Not Pelham's best songs. Where's the hit?

Where isn't the hit? I'f you're talking about a "hit" that sounds like "Blow it Out" I'm glad there isn't one on the new EP.

I still haven't gotten it. I'm a bad fan.

Maybe this weekend.

The title "Contrast" perfectly sums up the contents of the CD. It's like the perfect meal where each course complements the other. It leaves me feeling totally content, not too full. mmmm.

I don't think he's talking about a Blot It Out hit. I think it's more a reference to this material lacking that certain "umph" that we've had with all released (and most of the unreleased) Features material up to this point. And I agree with him. 3/5 of these songs are ones they normally quit playing by the time they get to the studio.

(Edited by YaDaDaDa at 6:04 am on Sep. 23, 2006)

"Contrast" ... the song.

immediately after i heard contrast and wooden heart for the first time, i thought they were some of pelhams best songs. maybe its just me.

I was thinking the batch of songs was a little weak for new material, too, but I figured that they saved most or all of their good stuff for the new album, which they had just gotten ready to make. So my money says they have quite a few new good songs up their sleeve, but they didn't want to put out a new album where most or all of the songs were available on the EP. Potential record labels would be less interested in putting out an album if it had songs most of their fanbase had just bought or heard already.

I didn't hear any new stuff at the Chattanooga show, but I definitely heard a new song not on the EP at the Atlanta show, and it was great. Which is not to say I don't like the EP songs, of course. I was ambivalent about them at first, but they've grown on me quite a bit. And hearing them live really makes you appreciate them more.

That's also my theory (wishful thinking) about why they haven't played old songs at the latest shows. That maybe they're hoping to catch the eye of talent scouts or something. And maybe it might be hard to explain why they didn't want to put the closing number everyone loved on their new album when it isn't already commercially available.

(Edited by vcalzone at 1:10 pm on Sep. 23, 2006)

Nahh, I completely agree with you.

The EP is good, I think. While there is some meaning behind (almost) every Features song, this EP tells a story, almost. Kind of like - Digsy explained this to me one time - "The Beginning" EP was conceptual - it was all very interconnected. I feel that, in some way, this is the case with "Contrast." I believe the title track conveys the emotion during the rough patch back in April-May: "We're too stubborn to make it right - so, we'll just sit and wait..." Guillotine, as Rollum explained, is what happened as Universal decided to drop them - all that drama. The music is very upbeat - hopeful even. Wooden Heart could mean several different things, so I won't even try. The intro played before Wooden Heart conveys the emotion (some of the lyrics below) I Will Wander is most likely another love-themed song, perhaps - not sure. "Fire in my jeans?" I dunno. I Will Wander survived the tumultuous summer, so it may be on the EP just to be there. While it flows well on the EP, I feel like it's just a little out of place. Commotion - gosh. I'm not one for literal music videos, but imagine a girl getting ready to go out, asking her parents, walking down a dark street - and during the chorus, she's on the front row of a Features show - perhaps at Wallstreet - singing along. The band's in the shot - gah, that's great. Didn't work as well for Men at Work's "Land Down Under." I think Guillotine might be nice animated... kind of like the Paper-CGI look with an animated version of the guys playing on a 18th-Century platform with a guillotine in the background - screaming French-types all around. This is in no way definitive - at all, haha. So take it with a grain of salt, maybe a lime, and the mixed alcoholic beverage of your choice.

"So, here we are - it's like we never even left to start.
Time heals the wounds, but then there's still a scar -
To remind us of the way it's meant to be..."

I second that!!!

Are the features trying to get on a major label again? or are they going to shoot for an indie label?

I chose "I will wander"... Production is awesome on this EP.

Hmmm, a show in New York (not to mention Louisville and Memphis) - could they be searching for a label? Indeed they could. They've got an excellent sample to present to any label on the PLANET.

i, too, am a bad fan and don't have the EP yet. i meant to pick it up at the mercy lounge show, which i didn't end up going to (sick and didn't have much fun at their last show there). "contrast" and "wooden heart" were two of my least favorite of that batch of newer songs, but i am way excited to hear "i will wander" and the other new ones. i'll tie a string around my finger next time i plan on going to grand palace.

/sign

why can't they be on thurston moore's label????

So I'm filing celeb files with "Commotion" stuck in my head and all of a sudden it turns into "Winded." I just noticed that the chorus riff to "Commotion" is that of "Winded"...which was only played once.

Anyone else hear this?

Back to filing.

I finally got the EP yesterday, and I am pleasantly surprised. Not that I didn't think I'd like it, but surprised that I like it as much as I do. I think the first 3 songs are all super-strong and I like Guillotine as well. I think Commotion is pretty sub-par, but I've only been listening for a day.

I'm a bit surprised with the lack of Mark discussion around here. I almost feel like I'm not supposed to talk about it because people will think I have some sort of bias, but I thought he was a great choice for the band. Parrish's style in a lot of ways made "the features sound," but those days are over and Mark is probably a more well-rounded musician. He also has a great voice.

That said, I wish all of this could have waited a year, because I know Mark was working on some solo stuff, and I'd kill to hear it. Mark becoming "just a keyboard player" is an unfortunate waste of talent. It's like Joe Pisapia in Guster, but no one here cares about that so I digress. Anyway, kinda surprised in the lack of discussion about this (I'm looking at YOU Sina), especially considering this board used to double as the DND message board.

You're right Keith, we need a Mark appreciation thread. I was really happy to see him chiming in on some BGVs at the Mercy Lounge show. I was equally happy to hear they've incorporated him playing bongos in a new song last night. I assumed he'd be treated like a second-class band member for awhile, but I get the impression that he's been welcomed into the band with open arms. Instead of just being in the background, it looks like they're taking advantage of his wide range of talent. Maybe he'll play a key role in the songwriting as well in the future.

I think Vovo Feat is the about the best choice they could've made, though I agree it's a waste of his songwriting abilities having him sidemouse for Pelham. I was disappointed when I saw them by how much he didn't actually sing with them. If he did, he was usually nowhere near a microphone. But he has one of the finest voices in the local scene. I had a bit of trouble hearing what he was playing at Mercy Lounge, so I can't really comment on that.

He is hot, though. Smokin' hot.

I just wanted to change the "Last Post" status. It was bothering me that no one was posting in this section.

I have a man-crush on Mark. Haha. Not really, but it sounds exciting... or something. Ok.

he's a wee man.

Bongos are useless in rock music.

I'm listening to Seatlle's KEXP.ORG. The DJ just announced a "new" Features song was coming up. Right now they're playing Belle and Sebastien's Judy and the Dream of Horses.

It's on right now-- Contrast (the best song on the EP, damnit!).

(Edited by carligula at 10:18 am on Oct. 2, 2006)

i finally got the ep yesterday. i'd say that "commotion" is definitely my favorite and the only song i'd say i really love. "contrast" and "guillotine" are good. maybe "wooden heart" will grow on me. "i will wander" is a fantastic song, but not on this cd. my favorite production is still "the beginning" ep.

Yeah, there's something really special about the Beginning, the way it sounds. I can't even really place it...maybe how it doesn't sound too produced or too loud, it just sounds. I probably have biased feelings towards it since it was the first Features recording I'd ever heard.

It's because Brian Carter is a genius. Jetpack Brian told me the other night that Jetpack is recording with him right now. He says it's the first time in his decade or so of recording music that he's actually been happy with his drum sounds.

I guess that means someone else is playing them for him!

BURN!

Tell me... you did not just say that.

I love "I Will Wander" but "Gullotine" is fantabulous esp. since the lyrics relate to the split with Universal. A very personal song with such well written words. It goes straight to my heart.


Jane P.

It's just too hard for me to dance during the math rock parts. How are we supposed to meet chicks if we can't dance?

i think that might be it too. the stuff he did this year with the turncoats (who have a 7 inch coming out on grand palace records very soon) sounds amazing. i was skeptical about any recording they might do because i think their sound requires a very specific type of production, but man, he really nailed it. plus those guys can really wail.

I like Wooden Heart and I Will Wander the best, but all of the songs rank among their best.

I can't believe that so many people can't appreciate the fact that Contrast is the best song on Contrast. It's Someway, Somehow all over again...

Are you insinuating that Someway Somehow is one of the best songs from Exhibit A? That's probably my least favorite song on that album. Not bad, though.

No, not the best. Just the most underappreciated... and underplayed.

Don't listen to Carl. He doesn't think Action is awesome.

Also, he's got a brain for an avatar and who would do something that lame.

Now KEXP is playing I Will Wander. I wonder if they just play the whole thing.

[Edit: after the song, the DJ mentioned how the EP was self-released because they were dropped from Universal for not covering a Beatles song. The dramatic pause afterwards said it all.]

(Edited by carligula at 3:41 pm on Oct. 9, 2006)

that's so awesome.