THE FEATURES

Some of my most favoritest tunes from the past few years have come courtesy of the currently label-less Tennessee collective THE FEATURES. Citing TALKING HEADS, THE KINKS, ELVIS COSTELLO, RANDY NEWMAN, and ROXY MUSIC as influences, these four young-fresh-fellows know from "infectious." I suppose one might also invoke THE KILLERS in describing a sound that genre-hops from indie rock to power pop to new wave (with a veneer of glam trappings, just for black-lipsticked kicks).

Imagine my surprise when I stumbled across an all-new, full-length Features' effort (SOME KIND OF SALVATION) while surfing me some cyberspace the other day. AMAZON has it listed, but not (it would seem) for sale to the public. A strange state of affairs, if I do say so (and I do) (say so).

Strange, too, is the fact that the very-American Features have been able to make quite a splash in the UK, but barely raise a ripple here in their home nation. For shame, people! Open your ears! Your arms! Your hearts! Your wallets! The MP3 files below! Do it now! Help these lads land a label! I command thee, dammit! (And I seriously need to back off on the caffeine.)

(Rumor has it that SOME KIND OF SALVATION may see an October release, so keep your ear to the ground and your eye on their MySPACE.)

From the LP SOME KIND OF SALVATION, 2008 >>>
[MP3] "The Drawing Board"
[MP3] "All I Ask"

From the EP CONTRAST, 2007 >>>
[MP3] "Wooden Heart"
[MP3] "Commotion"

From the LP EXHIBIT A, 2006 >>>
[MP3] "The Idea of Growing Old"
[MP3] "Blow It Out"
[VID] "Leave It All Behind"