The Felice Brothers and their folky Splendor

I heard of The Felice Brothers a year or two ago in a funny only on the internet kind of way. I was Googling my brother, (That sounds worse than what it actually is doesn't it?), Greg Farley. I found out there was a solo artist with a MySpace page with the same name. A click or eight later and I was listening to the transportive roots folk of The Felice Brothers. It turns out Greg Farley was playing a gig or two with them and has been part of the band ever since. They are currently a quintet touring extensively and released their first label album (self-titled) in 2008. Band Members Are: James Felice on accordion & vocals, Simone Felice drums & vocals, Ian Felice, vocals & guitar, Christmas on bass and Greg Farley on vocals, fiddle & washboard.

(I'm not going to focus on the artists too much because you can link on the right hand side of this page under Artist/Band Links and learn all about them.)

Tonight At The Arizona starts off with Roll On Arte, a swaying tune of coming home to change and the inertia of the need to leave your hometown . The second track Ballad of Lou the Welterweight is a fantastically written song about a boxer's story that has great lyrics like: Powder your nose/Pull off your pantyhose/Let me love you from behind/My darlin'. This album is filled with dusty, glimmering tracks that recognize the importance of Americana story-telling and real lyrical tales. The final song on this album Take This Hammer is in honor of the brothers' "daddy", a carpenter, and has a mention of the southern dish cornbread and molasses. This may be a tribute to Sonny Terry & Brownie McGee who sang of Cornbread, Peas and Black Molasses in one of their collaborations or maybe they just didn't want any of the "goddamn" stuff.

The newest album by The Felice Brothers is self-titled and released on the Team Love record label co-founded by Bright Eyes' Conor Oberst. I've only given it one listen so far but it has just as much whiskey, guns and broken hearts as Arizona with a sleeker production value. Their wall of sound has been fleshed out with some horns and a piano on select songs. It is definitely worth adding to your collection for multiple listenings.