You won't find any Dollywood or Graceland here.
The Features' new album, Exhibit A, flaunts the emergence of a new Tennessee sound marked by the spirit of rock 'n' roll.
The four Features bandmates emerged from the small Tennessee town of Sparta. Matthew Pelham (vocals) is backed by Roger Dabbs on bass, Parrish Yaw on keyboards and Rollum Haas on drums. Now, after February's Beginning EP, the band's true beginning is complete with a full-fledged debut album.
Since the band had played together for 10 years, some might cynically say The Features' time had come and gone. But the end is happily nowhere in sight for the group now that it has signed with Universal Records.
The four members of The Features bring out an exciting sound that doesn't fit in one specific genre. While the beats vary between vaudevillian and psychedelic, the lyrics hold a quirky, popish quality.
Comparisons include Elvis Costello and the Strokes, but neither accurately describes the breakthrough flurry of the songs' intros.
The first half of the album is bursting with energy, including "The Way It's Meant to Be," a song of plain, unconditional love. The realistic but nonpretentious lyrics are refreshing, and listeners will not feel manipulated by Pelham's gritty warble.
The drums slow down in the middle of the album, as Yaw shows his talent on the keyboard with "Blow It Out." If you've woken up on the right side of the bed, the song will crack a smile. "If you're happy and you know it/Turn the volume up and blow it out" is a slightly cheesy chorus, but it's oh-so-smoothly sung.
"Leave It All Behind" aims for profundity but is based more in naivet
