Artist: The Lovely Feathers
Album: Hind Hind Legs
Label: Equator Records
Tracks: 13
Review By: Jacob Gehman

Nothing irks me more than an album I can’t quite figure out. I’m not talking stylistically. I love stylistic confusion. For me, it’s when I can’t decide if an album is actually good or not. I already have a clear picture of my personal opinion, that’s not at question here. Instead, is the reason I don’t like “Hind Hind Legs” a personal reason (aka, a reason only I would identify with) or is it a intrinsic problem with the album that needs to be pointed out to potential purchasers? I’ve decided that it is an intrinsic issue and I’ll explain why I think so.
 
Listening to The Lovely Feathers’ “Hind Hind Legs” can be an enjoyable experience for short bursts of time. The burst length varies depending on what point in the album you’re at, but it does need to be mentioned that most songs, when taken individually, can be fairly enjoyable. Some choruses are rather catchy, there are some interesting song composition decisions.

When you start stringing together the songs, however, something about the entertainment of the bits and pieces becomes cheapened. They loose their power and vision. Even worse, it becomes obnoxious. Despite the wide variety of noises and sounds offered on “Hind Hind Legs,” tracks start to sound redundant. Not in a way that you feel like you’ve heard that melody or hook already, but it’s almost like you’re subconsciously picking up on a formula used for making the songs on this album. It’s not obvious the way a verse-chorus-verse-bridge-chorus formula is, but the fact that it’s there severely dampens the effect The Lovely Feathers are going for.

I think the formula rears it’s head most in the vocals. It’s entirely possible (probable, even) that the band had no evil plot to use a formula, it was just something that happened. But the trend of the album is for the music to dictate the vocal intensity. To make a good cd the intensity should be based on the lyrical content or emotional thread. Not to get intense just because you are coming to a chorus where the instruments are being cranked up. And to put the rotten cherry on top of everything it sounds forced.

It wouldn’t be too surprising to see The Lovely Feathers opening for a band like Modest Mouse or The Shins as there are elements of both bands in their general sound and style. But with their current material, I don’t expect them to become indie heroes any time soon. Which is why it really surprises me that each review of the album that I’ve read so far has been really positive. More power to them if they really do enjoy it. But definitely hear parts of the album before purchasing it.