Coming in
with a bang, The Wild Feathers debut album was a glorious introduction to the
potential of this new band. Their fourteen track album, including two bonus
tracks, is an addictive, dance-worthy, and quality addition to the folk-indie
genre. The Wild Feathers are a relatively new band, only having been together
for four years, and their talents matched each other’s instantaneously. Though
originally formed in Austin, Texas, the band kicked off their career in
Nashville, Tennessee (All
Music). Not after long, the band signed
with Warner Bros and was quickly sent on tour with Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson.
The Wild Feathers have successfully created their own style rather than
mimicking those of their idles such as The Allman Brother and Neil Young.
The band consists
of five singers and artists all from the Texas area; Ricky, Joel, Taylor, Ben
and Preston had all been previous lead singers in bands before The Wild
Feathers. Their infectious voices were made to be harmonized together; the
change of singer(s) per track keeps The
Wild Feathers intriguing and unique. The originality of these band members
transfer their sound over into each song, from slow, acoustic folk tracks, to
upbeat rock and roll songs, The Wild Feather’s show that their talent stretches
far and wide. The Wild Feathers undoubtedly made a tidal wave of an
introduction as a band.
The album
kicks off with “Backwoods Company”, and it starts the The Wild Feathers off with a powerful bang. The undeniable talent
from the guitarist and bassists together gives off a mix of The Black Keys and
Cage The Elephant, which isn’t a surprise considering The Wild Feathers and
Cage the Elephant share the same producer. The music video is a powerful, sporadic,
and intense montage of the band performing, friends running and dancing through
the woods, and a party to “Backwoods Company” in the woods. The facial
expressions from the dancers, actors, are intense and a little bit nerve-racking.
The song and music video are addictive and The Wild Feathers beautifully
combined their drums, base, and harmonies to create a perfect opening track.
The album cover
for The Wild Feathers isn’t anything
special, which is tolerable considering the music stands out enough on its own.
The graphics of the cover definitely portray the hipster, young, mountaineer,
folk, and badass band they are quickly becoming.
The number one, chart-crashing worthy, legendary track of the
album is one of the many that shows their true talent and original sound; “The
Ceiling” is a superb track including unstoppable lyrics, voices, and instrumentals.
It was a dangerous move making their biggest track six minutes long but there’s
no doubt that they pulled it off. The Wild Feathers broke the status quo for
love and breakup songs. This upbeat, catchy tune has you singing and dancing to
lyrics “I remember everything, little girl learning to sing cause she's crying /
all over me / Well I did what I did, and I didn't mean anything”. While there
isn’t a real story to follow “The Ceiling”, the song succeeds to spark multiple
emotions in our hearts and the anger associated with a failed relationship.
Just when
you think the song is coming to an end around three minutes and thirty seconds,
the band pulls out another couple minutes of beautiful acoustic harmonies. The
lyrics “we should be easy” send you into a paradise of peace and bliss. Multiple
members of the band harmonize for the first 10 lines, until the lead vocals
kick in and you find yourself unsure of which melody to sing along to. Many of
The Wild Feathers songs transport you into the middle of a movie scene and you
feel as if the world around you couldn’t be any more cinematic. “The Ceiling”
sends you to the end of a beautiful and artsy yet tragic drama where you star
as the main character.
The music
video of “The Ceiling” starts off completely silent in a quaint room, with almost
Native-American looking decorations, and a single guitarist on the couch. As
the song continues, the other band members transport to the room from scene to
scene until every instrument and voice is being utilized. A beautiful and
innocent girl portrays the girlfriend of the relationship in the scenes in
between the bands performance. The majority of the shots are taken in first
person from the boyfriend’s point of view, but there are multiple close up body
shots of a distressed and wounded boyfriend. The scenes couldn’t represent the
feeling of nostalgia any better than they do. Along with the vocals and lyrics
of “The Ceiling”, The Wild Feathers music video really draws you in to a whole
new world. Even those with the wildest ADD could focus on this song with the
way it takes you through twists and turns and keeps it intriguing. Most six and
a half minute songs have you changing the song by four minutes, but “The
Ceiling” keeps you in deep thought and entrancement through every second of
this now classic Wild Feather song.
No comments:
Post a Comment