Dead Feathers is a psychedelic
rock quintet from Chicago, Illinois. They’ll be releasing their sophomore LP, a
follow-up to 2019’s All is Lost, via
the mighty Ripple Music on September 22nd. This new record, Full Circle, showcases Marissa Allen’s soulful
vocals in all their glory. This gal is in a league of her own, backed up by a
group of skillful musicians that deliver nothing short of brilliant results.
We always complain that male lead
singers nowadays don’t have the distinctive vocal talents of singers of the
past decades such as Freddie Mercury, Ronnie James Dio, Steve Perry, Bruce
Dickinson and many others. Not so with female singers. In recent years, I’ve
encountered a plethora of leading ladies whose vocal talents seem to be
boundless. Marissa Allen is one of those women. From the get-go, you’re immediately
put under her spell as she sings for our pleasure. The title track has to be my
personal favourite of the album; it’s simply a sensational song in every way. “Lightning”
is another highlight, with its cool ‘60s vibe. “Daughters” is a gorgeous slow
gem that picks up momentum as it goes along. Dead Feathers really are direct
descendants of Jefferson Airplane and Fairport Convention. There’s a 1:44
minute instrumental interlude, “One Year Before the Island”, which seems to be
an ongoing trend for bands to have on their LPs these days. It’s followed by “The
Swell”, which is psychedelic rock at its finest that’ll have listeners
bewitched by Marissa’s entrancing voice. A very poetic song that’s a tad on the
long side, running at 7:19. “Robbery” is a good song, kind of a jam session, but
my least favourite track of the LP. While Marissa’s vocal gifts are on full
display here, it does suffer from a lengthy runtime of 9:53. Track number 7, “Galapagos”,
brings the curtains down, leaving us with a dreamy song that gets my vote as the
second best tune of the album.
Full
Circle is a solid LP that sounds retro and fresh at the same time.
Fans of the band will absolutely love this new crop of songs from an
exceptionally talented band. A couple of the songs could have their runtime
trimmed a bit, in my humble opinion. Nitpicks aside, Dead Feathers is
definitely one of the best bands working in the psychedelic rock genre today. Marissa
Allen channels the legendary Grace Slick at times and truly is a huge talent. Groovy
and full of fuzz, Full Circle is
bound to climb its way to the top albums of the year before 2023 is through.
Ripple Music’s Dead Feathers Bandcamp Pages: https://ripplemusic.bandcamp.com/album/full-circle
https://ripplemusic.bandcamp.com/album/all-is-lost
Dead Feathers on Bandcamp: https://deadfeatherschicago.bandcamp.com
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