The Features (10:00 PM)
Army Navy (9:00 PM)
Wed, September 26, 2012
8:00 pm
TroubadourThis event is all ages
http://www.troubadour.com/event/138499/
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The Features - (Set time: 10:00 PM)
The Features’ exhilarating new Wilderness (Serpents and Snakes/Bug Music) quickly establishes the Nashville-based combo as one of the most exciting and imaginative
bands working today. Songs like “Another One” and “Fats Domino” are marvels of pop ingenuity, animated by vivid lyrics, unshakable hooks, and experimental soul.
Wilderness is an amalgamation of influences and inspirations – spanning elements of Krautrock, indie, psychedelia, and classic AOR – to conjure up The Features’ own
inimitable, indescribable sound.
“I feel like we walk this fine line,” says singer/guitarist Matt Pelham. “We’re not weird enough for a certain crowd and we’re a little bit too out there for the other crowd. We fall
in the middle somewhere between mainstream and hipster, which puts us in this weird place, but we’re all pretty happy to be here.”
The album, which follows 2009’s acclaimed Some Kind Of Salvation, (released on Kings
of Leon’s label, Serpents and Snakes, a venture with music publisher, Bug Music), began coming together upon The Features’ return home after a lengthy 2010 tour
alongside Manchester Orchestra. Pelham and fellow Features Roger Dabbs (bass), Mark Bond (keyboards), and Rollum Haas (drums) enjoyed a brief domestic hiatus before quickly hitting the practice space to woodshed new material. Wilderness was produced with Brian Carter, who recorded their 2003 release, The Beginning EP, and engineer Craig Alvin at Carter’s Paradox Productions Recording Service in Nashville, Tennessee.
Coming into the studio straight away off the road gave The Features a full head of steam, which meshed with their desire to capture some of their on-stage power. The goal, Pelham says, was to make a record that sounded, “like the band was playing live in your living room.”
The result of the month-long sessions is as painstakingly crafted as it is full-on, with Pelham’s distinctive songcraft expertly matched by the band’s sonic inventiveness. “Big
Mama” and “Rambo” had already been staples of The Features’ live show, while tracks like the swingin’ psych-pop opener “Content” were spontaneously created in the studio.
Other highlights include the prog-fueled “Golden Comb, with its dynamic tempo changes and multipart arrangement, and the howling rocker, “Kids,” which brandishes the Tennessean band’s native gift for their own version of meaty, big beat boogie.
“I was hearing The Monks in my head,” Haas says of the latter track, “but I think it ended up coming out sounding more like Deep Purple.”
“It’s funny,” Pelham says, “all of us at this point seem to have gone back to things we
grew up listening to. We’ve started to reappreciate classic rock, which was all we could get where we lived. It wasn’t until I went to college in Murfreesboro that I found there
was another world outside of things like Tom Petty.”
Since releasing The Beginning EP in 2003, The Features have assembled quite the catalog of accomplishments, spanning single releases on the UK’s trendsetting Fierce
Panda label, two well-received albums, and a long history of tours as headliners as well as supporting such like-minded artists as their pals Kings of Leon. As Wilderness
demonstrates, the spirit of musical adventure continues to both define and motivate The Features.
“We’ve always kept moving with new material,” Haas says. “Even when we rehearse, we tend to not go through old songs. I’ve seen a lot of bands that rehearse the material
down to where I think everyone would get bored of it. When we get together, even if it’s to rehearse for a tour, we tend to work on new ideas.”
“That’s the exciting part for us,” says Pelham, “to be in a practice space, creating a song. The more we do that, the more fun we have as a band. We like touring and playing live,
but the creative process of putting a song together is the rush for everybody. So the more we can write and create, the more excitement there is within the band.”
With Wilderness, The Features have crafted yet another exceptional installment in what is shaping up as quite the impressive body of work. Ever evolving and always ambitious, this is a band in it for the long haul. The Features can’t imagine it any other way.
“I think most guys would’ve quit,” Haas says, “but all of us just love playing music. That’s the biggest part of it. We haven’t gotten bored with it yet.”
“Since we were kids, the only thing any of us ever wanted to do was play music,” says Pelham. “We aren’t really happy doing anything other than that. At this point, it’s gone
on so long that I don’t know what else we would do. It’s all we know.”
bands working today. Songs like “Another One” and “Fats Domino” are marvels of pop ingenuity, animated by vivid lyrics, unshakable hooks, and experimental soul.
Wilderness is an amalgamation of influences and inspirations – spanning elements of Krautrock, indie, psychedelia, and classic AOR – to conjure up The Features’ own
inimitable, indescribable sound.
“I feel like we walk this fine line,” says singer/guitarist Matt Pelham. “We’re not weird enough for a certain crowd and we’re a little bit too out there for the other crowd. We fall
in the middle somewhere between mainstream and hipster, which puts us in this weird place, but we’re all pretty happy to be here.”
The album, which follows 2009’s acclaimed Some Kind Of Salvation, (released on Kings
of Leon’s label, Serpents and Snakes, a venture with music publisher, Bug Music), began coming together upon The Features’ return home after a lengthy 2010 tour
alongside Manchester Orchestra. Pelham and fellow Features Roger Dabbs (bass), Mark Bond (keyboards), and Rollum Haas (drums) enjoyed a brief domestic hiatus before quickly hitting the practice space to woodshed new material. Wilderness was produced with Brian Carter, who recorded their 2003 release, The Beginning EP, and engineer Craig Alvin at Carter’s Paradox Productions Recording Service in Nashville, Tennessee.
Coming into the studio straight away off the road gave The Features a full head of steam, which meshed with their desire to capture some of their on-stage power. The goal, Pelham says, was to make a record that sounded, “like the band was playing live in your living room.”
The result of the month-long sessions is as painstakingly crafted as it is full-on, with Pelham’s distinctive songcraft expertly matched by the band’s sonic inventiveness. “Big
Mama” and “Rambo” had already been staples of The Features’ live show, while tracks like the swingin’ psych-pop opener “Content” were spontaneously created in the studio.
Other highlights include the prog-fueled “Golden Comb, with its dynamic tempo changes and multipart arrangement, and the howling rocker, “Kids,” which brandishes the Tennessean band’s native gift for their own version of meaty, big beat boogie.
“I was hearing The Monks in my head,” Haas says of the latter track, “but I think it ended up coming out sounding more like Deep Purple.”
“It’s funny,” Pelham says, “all of us at this point seem to have gone back to things we
grew up listening to. We’ve started to reappreciate classic rock, which was all we could get where we lived. It wasn’t until I went to college in Murfreesboro that I found there
was another world outside of things like Tom Petty.”
Since releasing The Beginning EP in 2003, The Features have assembled quite the catalog of accomplishments, spanning single releases on the UK’s trendsetting Fierce
Panda label, two well-received albums, and a long history of tours as headliners as well as supporting such like-minded artists as their pals Kings of Leon. As Wilderness
demonstrates, the spirit of musical adventure continues to both define and motivate The Features.
“We’ve always kept moving with new material,” Haas says. “Even when we rehearse, we tend to not go through old songs. I’ve seen a lot of bands that rehearse the material
down to where I think everyone would get bored of it. When we get together, even if it’s to rehearse for a tour, we tend to work on new ideas.”
“That’s the exciting part for us,” says Pelham, “to be in a practice space, creating a song. The more we do that, the more fun we have as a band. We like touring and playing live,
but the creative process of putting a song together is the rush for everybody. So the more we can write and create, the more excitement there is within the band.”
With Wilderness, The Features have crafted yet another exceptional installment in what is shaping up as quite the impressive body of work. Ever evolving and always ambitious, this is a band in it for the long haul. The Features can’t imagine it any other way.
“I think most guys would’ve quit,” Haas says, “but all of us just love playing music. That’s the biggest part of it. We haven’t gotten bored with it yet.”
“Since we were kids, the only thing any of us ever wanted to do was play music,” says Pelham. “We aren’t really happy doing anything other than that. At this point, it’s gone
on so long that I don’t know what else we would do. It’s all we know.”
Army Navy - (Set time: 9:00 PM)
"The playing's always spirited, producer Adam Lasus lends the disc a warm, ingratiating sound, and the songs are both taut and well-considered in their arrangements.” - Pitchfork
“Pure pop for now people” – SPIN, 8 out of 10
“A feel-bad record you can actually feel good about.” – SPIN, 8 out of 10
“in the grand power-pop traditions of Shoes, Material Issue and the Fountains of Wayne, wallowing
here is delivered with buoyancy.” – LA Times
"A poisoned Valentine dripping with equal parts beauty and scorn; imagine a Vulcan mind-meld between Teenage Fanclub's Bandwagonesque and Marvin Gaye's Here, My Dear and you're there.""- eMusic
“The Last Place” (The Fever Zone), solidifies Kennedy’s credentials as a pop-rock aficionado who aspires to write chiming, guitar-stoked melodies in the mold of prime Badfinger, Teenage Fanclub and Shoes.” – Chicago Tribune, 3 out of 4
“Bounding jangle-pop guided by Kennedy’s plaintive, searching vocals” - Rolling Stone
"If you loved the shimmering guitars and hooks-for-days approach of the band’s debut, you’ll find even more to love here: angelic choruses, pristine hooks and heartsick lyrics, all making for the absolute ideal summer record."- eMusic
Off the success of Army Navy’s self-released debut album the band entered 2010 with their strongest batch of songs to date and were able to self-finance the recording of their 2nd album. With a strong vision of the album in mind, they once again called upon producer and engineer Adam Lasus (Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Yo La Tengo, Helium) to help bring these songs to life. “We felt like we had all grown individually and as a group and we wanted that to show on this recording. We were more confident in the studio and as a band. I felt more open to write the most personal songs I have ever written” says Justin Kennedy, songwriter and frontman. The band worked for 6 months recording and mixing and pouring their hearts into the process. Creating an album with intricate arrangements, beautiful sounds, layered melodies, tight harmonies and full of catchy hooks. “We had created a sound that was super unique, and our focus, creativity and inspiration had created something bigger than all of us…a classic pop masterpiece!” says Lasus. The album is The Last Place.
Army Navy was born in the bedroom of Justin Kennedy, who in his early days played with Ben Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie) in Seattle’s Pinwheel. Having relocated to Los Angeles after Pinwheel broke up, Kennedy began focusing on his new project and started assembling members for Army Navy. Multi-instrumentalist Louie Schultz joined swiftly after hearing Kennedy’s home demos. Without a permanent sticks man at the time of recording the first album, Army Navy’s album boasted drumming by the legendary Pete Thomas of Elvis Costello and The Attractions, who had been a longtime fan of the band. Army Navy soon found their permanent drummer Douglas Randall.
The past few years were very exciting for the independent band. Army Navy released their first (Lasus produced) album on their own Fever Zone Label in 2008 and quickly garnered great admiration from fans and in the press. CMJ called it “..some of the brightest pop released this year”. The quartet’s first single “My Thin Sides,” which was paired with a hilarious video featuring Paul Scheer of Human Giant took the blogosphere by storm. The second single “Saints” which Blender Magazine called “a lovely indie-rock swoon” was the prestigious Single Of the Week on iTunes Australia and was released on the UK’s Fierce Panda’s Club Fandango Label. Stateside, it gained radio rotation on tastemaker stations like KEXP and KNRK and satellite radio’s indie-leaning XMU station.
The band found success in the placement world as well. The indie rock date-flick Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist prominently featured two Army Navy songs alongside artists like Vampire Weekend, Modest Mouse and The National; one of the songs being an exclusive track for the movies soundtrack. They have also been featured in the Shrek Forever After theatrical trailer, Beastly Film and Soundtrack, The Bachelor ABC TV commercial, and shows like: Weeds, The OC, Numbers, Greek, and many more.
Over the past few years the band have taken their dynamic live show on the road supporting such groups as: The Lemonheads, Arctic Monkeys, The Dodos, The Soft Pack, The Like, and Cut Copy; as well as explosive shows at SXSW and CMJ and the UK’s Truck festivals. The band was even asked to be musical guests on the short-lived Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien!
The new album “The Last Place was released exclusively through the eMusic “Selects” program on June 14th and went to #1 on the weekly charts and is #5 on the monthly charts! The album will be released everywhere July 12th through the bands Fever Zone label!
Army Navy was born in the bedroom of Justin Kennedy, who in his early days played with Ben Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie) in Seattle’s Pinwheel. Having relocated to Los Angeles after Pinwheel broke up, Kennedy began focusing on his new project and started assembling members for Army Navy. Multi-instrumentalist Louie Schultz joined swiftly after hearing Kennedy’s home demos. Without a permanent sticks man at the time of recording the first album, Army Navy’s album boasted drumming by the legendary Pete Thomas of Elvis Costello and The Attractions, who had been a longtime fan of the band. Army Navy soon found their permanent drummer Douglas Randall.
The past few years were very exciting for the independent band. Army Navy released their first (Lasus produced) album on their own Fever Zone Label in 2008 and quickly garnered great admiration from fans and in the press. CMJ called it “..some of the brightest pop released this year”. The quartet’s first single “My Thin Sides,” which was paired with a hilarious video featuring Paul Scheer of Human Giant took the blogosphere by storm. The second single “Saints” which Blender Magazine called “a lovely indie-rock swoon” was the prestigious Single Of the Week on iTunes Australia and was released on the UK’s Fierce Panda’s Club Fandango Label. Stateside, it gained radio rotation on tastemaker stations like KEXP and KNRK and satellite radio’s indie-leaning XMU station.
The band found success in the placement world as well. The indie rock date-flick Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist prominently featured two Army Navy songs alongside artists like Vampire Weekend, Modest Mouse and The National; one of the songs being an exclusive track for the movies soundtrack. They have also been featured in the Shrek Forever After theatrical trailer, Beastly Film and Soundtrack, The Bachelor ABC TV commercial, and shows like: Weeds, The OC, Numbers, Greek, and many more.
Over the past few years the band have taken their dynamic live show on the road supporting such groups as: The Lemonheads, Arctic Monkeys, The Dodos, The Soft Pack, The Like, and Cut Copy; as well as explosive shows at SXSW and CMJ and the UK’s Truck festivals. The band was even asked to be musical guests on the short-lived Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien!
The new album “The Last Place was released exclusively through the eMusic “Selects” program on June 14th and went to #1 on the weekly charts within 4 days and within 2 weeks its now #9 on the monthly charts! The album will be released everywhere July 12th through the bands Fever Zone label!
“Pure pop for now people” – SPIN, 8 out of 10
“A feel-bad record you can actually feel good about.” – SPIN, 8 out of 10
“in the grand power-pop traditions of Shoes, Material Issue and the Fountains of Wayne, wallowing
here is delivered with buoyancy.” – LA Times
"A poisoned Valentine dripping with equal parts beauty and scorn; imagine a Vulcan mind-meld between Teenage Fanclub's Bandwagonesque and Marvin Gaye's Here, My Dear and you're there.""- eMusic
“The Last Place” (The Fever Zone), solidifies Kennedy’s credentials as a pop-rock aficionado who aspires to write chiming, guitar-stoked melodies in the mold of prime Badfinger, Teenage Fanclub and Shoes.” – Chicago Tribune, 3 out of 4
“Bounding jangle-pop guided by Kennedy’s plaintive, searching vocals” - Rolling Stone
"If you loved the shimmering guitars and hooks-for-days approach of the band’s debut, you’ll find even more to love here: angelic choruses, pristine hooks and heartsick lyrics, all making for the absolute ideal summer record."- eMusic
Off the success of Army Navy’s self-released debut album the band entered 2010 with their strongest batch of songs to date and were able to self-finance the recording of their 2nd album. With a strong vision of the album in mind, they once again called upon producer and engineer Adam Lasus (Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Yo La Tengo, Helium) to help bring these songs to life. “We felt like we had all grown individually and as a group and we wanted that to show on this recording. We were more confident in the studio and as a band. I felt more open to write the most personal songs I have ever written” says Justin Kennedy, songwriter and frontman. The band worked for 6 months recording and mixing and pouring their hearts into the process. Creating an album with intricate arrangements, beautiful sounds, layered melodies, tight harmonies and full of catchy hooks. “We had created a sound that was super unique, and our focus, creativity and inspiration had created something bigger than all of us…a classic pop masterpiece!” says Lasus. The album is The Last Place.
Army Navy was born in the bedroom of Justin Kennedy, who in his early days played with Ben Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie) in Seattle’s Pinwheel. Having relocated to Los Angeles after Pinwheel broke up, Kennedy began focusing on his new project and started assembling members for Army Navy. Multi-instrumentalist Louie Schultz joined swiftly after hearing Kennedy’s home demos. Without a permanent sticks man at the time of recording the first album, Army Navy’s album boasted drumming by the legendary Pete Thomas of Elvis Costello and The Attractions, who had been a longtime fan of the band. Army Navy soon found their permanent drummer Douglas Randall.
The past few years were very exciting for the independent band. Army Navy released their first (Lasus produced) album on their own Fever Zone Label in 2008 and quickly garnered great admiration from fans and in the press. CMJ called it “..some of the brightest pop released this year”. The quartet’s first single “My Thin Sides,” which was paired with a hilarious video featuring Paul Scheer of Human Giant took the blogosphere by storm. The second single “Saints” which Blender Magazine called “a lovely indie-rock swoon” was the prestigious Single Of the Week on iTunes Australia and was released on the UK’s Fierce Panda’s Club Fandango Label. Stateside, it gained radio rotation on tastemaker stations like KEXP and KNRK and satellite radio’s indie-leaning XMU station.
The band found success in the placement world as well. The indie rock date-flick Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist prominently featured two Army Navy songs alongside artists like Vampire Weekend, Modest Mouse and The National; one of the songs being an exclusive track for the movies soundtrack. They have also been featured in the Shrek Forever After theatrical trailer, Beastly Film and Soundtrack, The Bachelor ABC TV commercial, and shows like: Weeds, The OC, Numbers, Greek, and many more.
Over the past few years the band have taken their dynamic live show on the road supporting such groups as: The Lemonheads, Arctic Monkeys, The Dodos, The Soft Pack, The Like, and Cut Copy; as well as explosive shows at SXSW and CMJ and the UK’s Truck festivals. The band was even asked to be musical guests on the short-lived Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien!
The new album “The Last Place was released exclusively through the eMusic “Selects” program on June 14th and went to #1 on the weekly charts and is #5 on the monthly charts! The album will be released everywhere July 12th through the bands Fever Zone label!
Army Navy was born in the bedroom of Justin Kennedy, who in his early days played with Ben Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie) in Seattle’s Pinwheel. Having relocated to Los Angeles after Pinwheel broke up, Kennedy began focusing on his new project and started assembling members for Army Navy. Multi-instrumentalist Louie Schultz joined swiftly after hearing Kennedy’s home demos. Without a permanent sticks man at the time of recording the first album, Army Navy’s album boasted drumming by the legendary Pete Thomas of Elvis Costello and The Attractions, who had been a longtime fan of the band. Army Navy soon found their permanent drummer Douglas Randall.
The past few years were very exciting for the independent band. Army Navy released their first (Lasus produced) album on their own Fever Zone Label in 2008 and quickly garnered great admiration from fans and in the press. CMJ called it “..some of the brightest pop released this year”. The quartet’s first single “My Thin Sides,” which was paired with a hilarious video featuring Paul Scheer of Human Giant took the blogosphere by storm. The second single “Saints” which Blender Magazine called “a lovely indie-rock swoon” was the prestigious Single Of the Week on iTunes Australia and was released on the UK’s Fierce Panda’s Club Fandango Label. Stateside, it gained radio rotation on tastemaker stations like KEXP and KNRK and satellite radio’s indie-leaning XMU station.
The band found success in the placement world as well. The indie rock date-flick Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist prominently featured two Army Navy songs alongside artists like Vampire Weekend, Modest Mouse and The National; one of the songs being an exclusive track for the movies soundtrack. They have also been featured in the Shrek Forever After theatrical trailer, Beastly Film and Soundtrack, The Bachelor ABC TV commercial, and shows like: Weeds, The OC, Numbers, Greek, and many more.
Over the past few years the band have taken their dynamic live show on the road supporting such groups as: The Lemonheads, Arctic Monkeys, The Dodos, The Soft Pack, The Like, and Cut Copy; as well as explosive shows at SXSW and CMJ and the UK’s Truck festivals. The band was even asked to be musical guests on the short-lived Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien!
The new album “The Last Place was released exclusively through the eMusic “Selects” program on June 14th and went to #1 on the weekly charts within 4 days and within 2 weeks its now #9 on the monthly charts! The album will be released everywhere July 12th through the bands Fever Zone label!
All lineups and times subject to change