This seems to be the year for artists finding their Dylan goes electric moment. I can’t pindown any reason for it but the new sounds are great entertainment for us FRUK. The Felice Brothers are no exception as Fat Possum records give us a taster of what lays ahead with their forthcoming album Celebration, Florida.
The track Ponzi sounds not too far removed to begin with, all be it with the addition of electronics, but just after 3 minutes in the chameleon gets freaky, unlike anything they have done before. Have a listen:
Fat Possum wrapped it up nicely:
an exhilarating amalgamation of frightening horn sections, unexpected 808s, ambient synth lines, schoolyard taunts, booming, primitive drum beats, heavy bass lines, piano, violin, accordion, ringing guitars, rave beats, and sinister acid jazz that captivates and mystifies.
Celebration, Florida was recorded in the library and theater of Beacon, NY’s old high school, the band explores a multitude of sounds and instrumentation throughout the expansive album. It’s inspired, imaginative, heady, menacing, passionate, and rollicking. Most importantly, it’s as steadfastly authentic as ever, expanding upon the dark, woozy undercurrent of ramshackle barroom blues, vaudevillian atmospherics, and surreal storytelling of their previous albums.
Celebration, Florida casts scenes of dreamy characters and stories interwoven like a block of primetime TV. Among the tales: a young woman who sets off to find a secret paradise; a teenager who enters a boxing gym in Catskill, NY; a late night host recounting his rise to fame to his honeybee while traveling in a private jet; shady degenerates who get lost in a mystery concerning a Honda Civic; a young girl who crimps her hair and spies her dead father driving down the road; a Wall Street scandal hits a little too close to home; and even a trip through space to find long forgotten Hollywood parties and hopefully make it back there in time to walk down the red carpet.
Out on 10th May on Fat Possum Records