FELL - "Incoherent Lullabies"
(Camera Obscura CAM-086 2009)
FELL - "Incoherent Lullabies"
(Camera Obscura CAM-086
2009)
From Aural Innovations April 2010 update
To say that Josh Wambeke and friends aren't quite as whispy as Landing, as lazy as Twin Atlas, or as Floydish as Porcupine Tree or Ebeling Hughes goes a long way to describing this disc. You know how they do - mellow acoustics, phased electrics, soft dreamy spacescapes, the whispery delicate close-miked vocal. There are so many bands that have done this style already, so Fell really gotta work to make it count... and they hit the mark on about half the tracks.
"1997" is the first tune to really jump out with its catchy chorus and washes of cosmos-noise. "25" is not a favorite, but it's a departure for its strikingly commercial-sounding pop-soul chorus... though even this one eventually drifts off into a rather pleasant ether. Really dig the smooth chord progression of the instrumental "Beacon" and how the electric slides up the frets at the end of each bar. The album finishes strong with three neato dreamy cuts: "Tour Starts in September" and "As I Ran" have very pretty melodies for voice (with spacious musical accompaniment, of course) and finally, "A Million Miniscule Christmas Lights" finishes us off as a slow crushingly-cosmic Mogwai stomper.
Visit the band web site at: http://www.vacantsongs.net/
Visit the Camera Obscura Web site at: http://www.cameraobscura.com.au
Reviewed by Chuck Rosenberg