Featured Album

Each week XPN's Mike Vasilikos, serves up another Featured Album of the Week. Tune in to the XPN Morning Show every Monday as Mike reviews another great CD.

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The Felice Brothers - "Yonder Is The Clock" (Team Love)

If you've ever traveled to or spent an extended period of time in the Catskill Mountains, the sound and demeanor of The Felice Brothers comes as no surprise. On their second release for Team Love Records, the earthy Americana band of brothers and longtime friends aim to reflect the America that they know, and do so with tales of trains, baseball and even chickens.

As a matter of fact, The Felice Brothers built their studio and recorded Yonder Is The Clock in an old, abandoned chicken coop. Hence, songs like "Chicken Wire" and "Run, Chicken, Run".

Comparisons to the sound of Bob Dylan & The Band will come without fail. But the more you listen to The Felice Brothers and Yonder Is The Clock, their authenticity becomes clearer. Despite their raggedy, old-timely sound The Felice Brothers are able to pull off a modern relevancy that you might suspect to be difficult. But, again, they sing about what they know. So for a band that started off performing in the subways of New York City, a song like "Penn Station" is more than just a creative tale.

The band built a lot of buzz through their high-energy, rowdy performances and Yonder Is The Clock delivers for those fans. But the album is well-rounded, featuring pensive songs like "The Big Surprise", along with earnest moments like "Cooperstown".

The Catskills may not produce the quantity of talent of, say, Brooklyn or Austin, but The Felice Brothers note for note hold their own in a world of increasing indie talent.

Written by Mike Vasilikos

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