THE FELICE BROTHERS – CELEBRATION

If Bob Dylan had grown up in an era when he had to compete with 50 Cent and Eminem then he would have made albums that sound like Celebration. Whilst folk may be the genre of the moment, The Felice Brothers have chosen to blow open the Americana-based folk-rock that has been their staple to date. There is no better example here than Honda Civic where they not only blast out of the quite folk harmonica  and drum shuffle into a swinging, horn led soul stomp, but change pace and pattern regularly. Interestingly the soul influence comes at a time when Simone Felice has “left” the band (he is still occasionally playing with the brothers) and had great success with the more soulful Duke and the King project. They even have a shot 80’s synth rock and a lyrical tilt at the financial market via Ponzi, while the use of the children’s choir in Fire at the Pageant is both unexpected in its arrival and highly effective in lifting the song up on its shoulders and carrying it to greater heights. Raise your glass.

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