Yonder Is the Clock, by the Felice Brothers

New Album by Upstate New York Band

Jul 14, 2009 Craig Sanders

Upstate New York Natives The Felice Brothers rock long and hard with their new album, "Yonder Is the Clock."

The Catskill Mountains of New York hold many surprises: green mountains, clear lakes, pretentious artists, and backwoods country folk. But the best thing to come out of the Catskills in some time are the Felice Brothers, who have just released their latest album, a rootsy, loose, and joyfully disheveled album called “Yonder Is the Clock.”

Felice Brothers Rock With Reckless Abandon on “Yonder Is the Clock”

The Felice Brothers have become well known for their energetic live shows, and “Yonder Is the Clock” does an excellent job of capturing that energy. This is best displayed on drunken-sounding burners such as “Penn Station” and “Memphis Flu,” yet on their slower songs, The Felice Brothers still fire up black, sooty smoke.

The greatest element of “Yonder Is the Clock” is that it feels like it could possibly go off the rails at any moment. This album is reckless and rickety, like the Tilt-A-Whirl at a backwoods county fair. It is that danger, that feeling of near catastrophe, that makes “Yonder is the Clock” so much fun.

The distinct voice of lead singer Ian Felice rasps and croaks all over this album, as if he had just gargled with Catskill Mountain dirt. This is not a negative. Felice’s voice is a completely unique instrument. Like other famously frogged voices (see Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen) Ian Felice’s tones will be loved by some and positively hated by others. Those “others” should go back to listening to their Auto-Tuned artists and stay away from anything with soul.

The Felice Brothers’ Story Goes from Catskills to New York City.

The Felice Brothers Ian, James, and Simone (pronounced Simon), along with long time friends Christmas Clapton and Greg Farley, come from the Catskill Mountains of New York. The Felice Brothers are from Palenville, a small town not too far from bohemian villages like Catskill, Saugerties, and Woodstock.

From the Catskills they followed their way down the Hudson River to New York City, where they would busk in the tunnels of NYC’s vast subway system. Since then, the Felice Brothers have toured extensively and played such festivals as Mountain Jam, the Newport Folk Festival, the Clearwater Festival, and Bonnaroo.

The Felice Brothers Join the Big Surprise Tour

This Summer, the Felice Brothers will be joining Old Crow Medicine Show, Dave Rawlings Machine with Gillian Welch, and Justin Townes Earle. The tour begins August 4th at the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom in Hampton Beach, NH, USA, and includes a stop at the famed Beacon Theater in New York City on August 6th. Further information is available at the Felice Brother’s website.

“Yonder Is the Clock” Track Listing

  1. "The Big Surprise"
  2. "Penn Station"
  3. "Buried in Ice"
  4. "Chicken Wire"
  5. "Ambulance Man"
  6. "Sailor Song"
  7. "Katie Dear"
  8. "Run Chicken Run"
  9. "All When We Were Young"
  10. "Boy from Lawrence County"
  11. "Memphis Flu"
  12. "Cooperstown"
  13. "Rise and Shine"

References

archives.nodepression.com/2008/03/palaces-on-wheels/ Article From No Depression Magazine

thefelicebrothers.com/bio.php Felice Brothers Website

takethisbread.blogspot.com/ Felice Brothers Fan Page

The copyright of the article Yonder Is the Clock, by the Felice Brothers in Folk Music is owned by Craig Sanders. Permission to republish Yonder Is the Clock, by the Felice Brothers in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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