Yonder is the Clock - The Felice Brothers

Rating - 7.0

About three months ago, on a Tuesday, I received a call from a good friend who had just been asked to run sound for The Felice Brothers at an impromptu show in New Paltz, NY. Unabashedly, I asked if I could tag along, offering some extra hands and ears in exchange for the chance to see their notoriously raucous live show, get a few free beers, and possibly meet the gang themselves. The bar was small and seedy, with the Brothers' name on a chalk board outside as the only means of promotion. But then again, word of mouth is what got them to the stages of Bonnarroo (an offer they turned down this year), SXSW, and the Newport Folk Festival. That night they performed some of their most acclaimed songs, a number of gospel/folk covers, and a few selection from the then unreleased record Yonder is the Clock, out now on Team Love records. And while their live theatrics may be the greatest show on earth, The Brothers are still struggling to translate that energy, ambition, and authenticity onto an album.

Taking its name from a Mark Twain vignette, Yonder is the Felice Brothers first "proper" album, meaning they had a legit budget, proper promotion, and all the songs on it are previously unreleased (their self titled breakthrough had several tracks from locally released Adventures of the Felice Brothers, Vol. 1). Having built their reputation with their crowd-pleasing, rag tag sing-a-longs, its no surprise that there is a ton of energy pulling the reins of this album's best tracks; and with each stomp the Brother's continue to build their ever-growing mythology. "Penn Station" refers the band's notorious stunts in the subways of NYC, while "Chicken Wire" and "Memphis Flu" play on their reputation of setting up, playing, and recording whenever and wherever it seems fit, be it a chicken coop, barn, or near a railroad.

The Brother's have always balanced their barn burners with contemplative ballads, usually supplied by the gravel-voiced keyboardist James, or the gentle drummer Simone. However, on Yonder, the band creates a distinct separation between the two, and by losing that middle ground they also lose the longevity of their previous works. The steady pulse of "Radio Song" or the surprisingly authentic New Orleans funeral march of "Greatest Show on Earth", both on last year's self-titled, are gone not only in a literal sense, but also in spirit.

Originating in a small town in the Catskill Mountains region, The Felice Brothers have existed up to this point in the legendary shadow of Bob Dylan & The Band, who notoriously nestled into Woodstock, NY and breathed a new Americana. Dylan & the Band's music glorified an American history which never actually existed, but was built upon the very real traditions of early American music. Forty years later, Yonder is the Clock, with its Mark Twain title, and ghostly images of ambulances, glass ships, and chickens, is still exploiting that brand of American mysticism. The problem, however, is that the Felice Brothers are more concerned with telling the actual story, and unlike Dylan, Twain, Steinbeck, or their hometown brethren Levon Helms, their lack of imagination and the creative ability to paint stories and characters that leave a lasting impression will limit them to being a novelty act, rather than the torch-carriers. I could of swore the box said "Hollywood Blanks", but...