Arlan
Feiles - Come Sunday Morning (Not Pop Records)
I had seen Arlan Feiles at one of Lazlo's Blowup
Radio shows at Buddies in Parlin, NJ. The shows
at Buddies are nothing but eclectic and fun!
Lazlo and Mike Grau have been putting on some
excellent shows this past year, and they seem
to be getting better as time goes on. Arlan
was a standout at the show I saw. A singer-songwriter
whose songs are strong, interesting, and best
of all, he does not guarantee the kid-gloves
treatment. On this latest CD, Arlan usually
has one-man-band tendencies, using other musicians
sparingly, like on "Come Sunday Morning."
His songs have a hum-along weirdness (a cool
weirdness), like on the sun-kissed glide of
"I've Got No Choice."
Vocally, Arlan rides the high notes like a brasher
Jeff Buckley, but shows off his darker, probing
side on a song like, "The Best I Have."
As a writer and stylist, Feiles has been developing
his own distinctive voice, and the melancholy
in his songs blends nicely with the ambitious
lyrics, and grace that he projects. His music
is concise, with intimate warmth and unexpected
starshine, like on "Out of The Dirt."
Some of it has a homespun, acoustic feel like
on Dylan's
Bringing it All Back Home.
There's an abundance of cleansing, but subdued
guitar fire that is flattered by a stirring
keyboard (Arlan), and pedal steel guitar (Jim
Douglas). Arlan brilliantly lights up these
12 heartfelt songs without incinerating them.
That doesn't contradict the beauty here, it
just shows there's more than one path to heaven.-
Phil Rainone
The
Morning Of - The World As We know It (Tragicherorecords.net)
At first I thought this was an offshoot of the
bands that Disney has been pumping down the
kids' throats, like an endless cotton candy
machine (Jonas Brothers, High School Musical,
etc.). Listening to the first song, "Goodbye
Gravity, Welcome Change" I felt the quietly
hushed tune was lapsing into blandness. Than,
the second song, "Let Your Spirit Soar,"
brightened things up with a loose melody and
nimble rock grooves, that reminded me of Simple
Plan's new disc (in defense of Simple Plan,
their new album is good). Further on into
The
World As We Know Itm, the music has bright
melodies, blippy beats, white-boy harmonies
(the band consists of 5 guys and girl), and
at times, smart-ass lyrics.
Although I can applaud The Morning Of efforts
to set themselves apart from the rest of the
Hanna Montana crowd with a song like, "Pilot
to Base," about an approaching airplane
crash ("There's 40 parachutes on this plane
and your number 41"), I really can't swallow
these guys hook, line, and sinker. - Phil
Rainone
CD Reviews 
