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30 April, 2008
Fea Street Hustle EP
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Fea Street Hustle EP
Page 1
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Self Released
Dunedin (unlike, say, Gore) is not a town in any way renowned for its association with country music, preferring instead a steady stream of guitar based indie rock with the odd weird experimental band to really push the boundaries. Although it would be unfair to label the [Fea Street Hustle] as simply a country band, their roots are most certainly buried in that fertile country soil in the same way that Wilco’s are, and like Wilco they take that strong footing and go somewhere else with it.
Their recently self released and self titled EP showcases the formidable song writing talent and musical prowess of this local four piece beginning with South of the River, an ode to (of course) both the South and the Southern Belles that inhabit said geography. And geography pervades the EP, the second song being an upbeat ditty that laments the passing of land from the ownership of locals to those with money, and the inevitable change for small communities.
It is on these first two songs that the [Fea Street Hustle] really imprint both their love of the initial country music form and their desire and impressive ability to take it somewhere else, instrumental passages building atmosphere aplenty as the music swells and fades. But the EP’s third song, Abandoned City, really showcases the talent here, the song drifting seemingly in on the breeze, images of desolation and dust, a plaintive electric slide making way for the yearning vocal and restrained drums, the song slowly building to the most beautiful instrumental passage, all loneliness and brooding.
While the music is obviously taken seriously, there is certainly a very palpable sense of humour shown too, particularly with regard to the subject matter of Manchester Street, a song dedicated to that infamous stretch of road in Christchurch’s central city. The EP is rounded out by She Rolled in Like a Rodeo, a song that revels in all that is glorious about [Fea Street Hustle’s] chosen idiom, mixing country bounce with a small dose of upbeat, driving rock ‘n’ roll, the lyrics evoking the classic themes of loneliness and a broken, deserted land.
As a debut recording this EP works extremely well,
the beautiful packaging serving to reinforce the cohesiveness of the [Fea Street Hustle’s] vision. If there was any flaw in the EP it may be that the lead vocals don’t seem quite strong enough, seeming to be stretched by the range demanded by the music.But this is a minor quibble, this is a very good, very assured recording and bodes well for any future releases from this promising young band.
By Dave Local
Posted by rob
