The Felice Brothers – Celebration, Florida (Fat Possum)
The back-story behind the title of the new Felice Brothers record provides a lot to unravel. The city of Celebration, Florida was constructed to represent a small town with moral integrity. Its proximity to Disney World is no mere coincidence. In the spirit of this American institution, Celebration was meant to be a safe haven removed from the dark recesses of society. In the final months of 2010, two homicides occurred that rocked the community. Crime wasn’t supposed to happen in Celebration. When it finally did, the small town that was created as more fantasy than reality was forced to see the world with unsheltered eyes.
The removal of the veil from the eyes of the residents of Celebration, Florida is a great place to begin discussion of the new Felice Brothers record. With their past two efforts, the band has been heralded as the best in contemporary Americana. With a style all their own, plus singer Ian Felice’s penchant for Basement Tapes-era Bob Dylan, they could have easily recreated the standard Felice Brothers’ musical style. Instead, they approached Celebration, Florida as a means of rediscovering their musical identities and taking a mighty risk, at the expense of what their supporters have come to expect.
The Felice Brothers – Celebration, Florida (Fat Possum)
The back-story behind the title of the new Felice Brothers record provides a lot to unravel. The city of Celebration, Florida was constructed to represent a small town with moral integrity. Its proximity to Disney World is no mere coincidence. In the spirit of this American institution, Celebration was meant to be a safe haven removed from the dark recesses of society. In the final months of 2010, two homicides occurred that rocked the community. Crime wasn’t supposed to happen in Celebration. When it finally did, the small town that was created as more fantasy than reality was forced to see the world with unsheltered eyes.
The removal of the veil from the eyes of the residents of Celebration, Florida is a great place to begin discussion of the new Felice Brothers record. With their past two efforts, the band has been heralded as the best in contemporary Americana. With a style all their own, plus singer Ian Felice’s penchant for Basement Tapes-era Bob Dylan, they could have easily recreated the standard Felice Brothers’ musical style. Instead, they approached Celebration, Florida as a means of rediscovering their musical identities and taking a mighty risk, at the expense of what their supporters have come to expect.
The record opens with “Fire at the Pageant,” which acts as a great indicator for what’s to come. A distant choir of children’s voices is at play as the soliloquy of an acoustic guitar and a stomping foot lead us to the introductory lyrics. This is when things get interesting. A swirl of looped electronic drums as well as plugged-in instruments direct our attention to what may be one of the best choruses the band has written. While Ian Felice may be the most recognizable voice from the band, I would say that “Pageant” does a splendid job in representing each distinct voice that takes on vocal responsibilities throughout Celebration, Florida. “Pageant” not only represents the band’s new musical direction, it looks at the pursuit of creating and maintaining the idea of perfection in the form of a small-town community. By starting a fire at the American institution of a pageant, The Felice Brothers run as far away as they can from everything they accomplished on the first two albums.
This isn’t to say that there aren’t hints of past efforts to be found on Celebration, Florida. Modest contributions like “Oliver Stone” and “Best I Ever Had” could easily fit in alongside anything from their back catalog. These songs are great, but the unexpected moments are undoubtedly the highlights.
On their 2009 album Yonder is the Clock, the Felice Brothers wrote effectively about the creator of Penn Station. When listening to the song “Penn Station,” you could envision the band sitting with guitar cases open and fedoras flipped upside down in a train station, playing the song like traveling musicians. The same could easily be said about the track “Memphis Flu,” which appeared on the same album. In the lead single from this album, “Ponzi,” the group shows that they haven’t lost their penchant for constructing catchy refrains. However, unlike the aforementioned songs, “Ponzi” sounds like it is being sung from the dimly lit rooms of high society, where the men and women of the night come to meet for stiff drinks and full ashtrays. There is no sign of solace to be found in this new material. These songs exist in a dark place that takes fantastic ideas like the town of Celebration, Florida and considers them to be foolish. We are slowly moving further away from hope. While the idea for a town like Celebration may come from a pure, conventional place, the town could never survive given the current tenets of society.
The Felice Brothers – Ponzi from Ravenhouse LTD. on Vimeo.
Celebration, Florida closes with “River Jordan,” which allows Ian Felice to confront the idea of his former god. In each verse, he wonders if there is anyone who could lead him to greener pastures. Felice represents each and every one of us when he finally confronts the world surrounding him, as well as himself. He condemns the news media and his whole career. It has provided him with little to no satisfaction, and the future grows bleaker and bleaker with every passing moment. If all of this could be sacrificed in order to get back to anything that resembled “home,” he feels the trade would be worth it.
While I don’t know if Celebration, Florida is the best thing the group has released thus far in their prolific career, it is an excellent example of their musical ambitions. Once they conquered their past sound, it was time to move on to the next progressive idea. I am curious to see how these songs play out live against past material, but I am confident enough to think that The Felice Brothers are capable of making them make sense. With each addition to their catalog, the band provides an incredible amount of memorable refrains and remarkable musical moments that all deserve to be beheld by new and old audiences alike. As the record comes to a close, I wonder what The Felice Brothers will have in store for us next. I for one am excited to see what transpires.
