The Wild Feathers’ new release Greetings From the Neon Frontier (Warner Brothers), produced by Jay Joyce (Patty Griffin, Little Big Town) is the band’s third release and their first on Warner Brothers, Nashville.
The Wild Feathers are a unique line-up of three strong frontmen who sing crystal clear harmonies together — Ricky Young, Taylor Burns, and Joel King on bass — together creating a sonic pattern that will seize your attention. Rounded out with drummer from Georgia, Ben Dumas, this Southern four-piece crafts catchy songs that are easy to relate to while at the same time crossing genres in just the way that Americana fans love.
Producer Jay Joyce has a long history of arranging country rock greats like The Wallflowers, Emmylou Harris, and John Hiatt, so you can expect the kind of production quality and clarity that you just won’t hear in your average self-production nowadays. With Joyce’s background in the rock ‘n roll production business, this album reflects the crisp rhythms of the style.
“Quittin’ Time” starts the album off with the vocals trading back and forth and the outcast message “I don’t think heaven will take us in, a bottle of whiskey and it’s quittin’ time again.” The opening lead-in on “Wildfire” is already heralding the plaintive story of travel from California to Tennessee in 70’s style rock and harmony build-up: “nothing feels better than wildfire.” Then there are songs proclaiming loyalty — “Stand By You,” and “No Man’s Land” — and then “Two Broken Hearts is a sad song of heartbreak introduced by mournful violin. “Golden Days” is a song of glory days and nostalgia, and then “Big Sky,” “Every Morning I Quit Drinking” and “Hold On To Love” continue to capture the harmonic effect that has everyone comparing these guys to the Eagles. By the close of the album, we finally get the band’s “greetings from the neon frontier” in “Daybreaker,” with more overlapping early 70’s style patterns, but this time with vocal tradeoffs and call and response.
All in all, this is a highly polished effort with easy harmonies in true country rock style, and is a welcome addition to help make it through this summer’s heat. Get your copy here. http://www.thewildfeathers.com/
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