Brooklyn’s Dinosaur Feathers are not a band confined to their geography, stretching sonic bounds with island rhythms, African tribal sounds; and allowing all sorts of genres, instruments and harmonies to rub shoulders with one another.
This summer I absolutely fell in love with their EP ‘Early Morning Risers’, and their debut LP ‘Fantasy Memorial’ (out March 2010) is now available for pre-order with a free download of the song, ‘Vendela Vida’.
The track starts with birds and chimes, church bells, shifting gracefully into a more latin sound, falling back into a fifties cruiseship, and swaying back again, making me think of pretty girls wearing lays and coconut bras. Interesting fact: Vendela Vida is the author of ‘Let The Northern Lights Erase Your Name’ and she’s also the wife of Dave Eggers.
I’m really excited about this album and about this band- Greg Sullo’s voice is radiant, and their ability to revive songs of decades passed by layering sweet pop songs with foreign rhythms and energies is so unlike anything I’ve heard lately. With traces of Menomena, Animal Collective, Suckers, I feel like Dinosaur Feathers are well on their way to internet hype-dom soon.
Dinosaur Feathers- Vendela Vida
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Illustration by: Meredith Meich- The New York Rockmarket blog
There once was a suitcase, and inside that suitcase was a treasure trove of sounds. Mutually drawn to these sounds, as moths to light, the members of Dinosaur Feathers decided to harness the power of the suitcase, and use it for good. The music that followed was at once familiar and bizarre, like the streets where they grew up, but in a parallel universe. Melding old-time harmonies, rhythms salvaged from the billowy depths of Davey Jones’ locker, and a thirst for adventure, Dinosaur Feathers does not make pop music that asks why; but rather, why not?
-Dinosaur Feathers answers the question, What is a Dinosaur Feathers?
Should I ever cross paths with Brooklyn-based Dinosaur Feathers, I feel as though I’d find myself in good company. A band who doesn’t take themselves too seriously is rare (like dinosaurs) in these times of chasin’ paper and scoring chicks and that overarching goal of amassing legions of fans in via Twitter, or scandal or whatever other backhanded way bands do it these days. They’re funny, and a bit elusive. But their music is extraordinary! You must must must download their EP ‘Early Morning Risers’ for free (their gift to you) and see for yourself. I love that bands are really redefining what a pop song could be. They’ve got these lovely harmonies from earlier days of singing a capella, which sounds like the Beach Boys jamming with the Dodos. They also brought back some inspiration from time spent in Mali which gives it it’s west-African tropical sound. This is all carried on the back of strange instrumentation, inventive drum machine parts to create super catchy pop songs.
Dinosaur Feathers- Know Your Own Strength
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Dinosaur Feathers- Teenage Whore
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Dinosaur Feathers- Early Morning Risers
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