The band known as Felice Brothers has come into its own in recent years and, in doing so, has released a string of excellent records such as 2021’s Life In The Dark. But Asylum On The Hill is the best of the lot and arguably their best yet: gone is the ramshackle charm of their music, replaced by a natural poise replete with confidence and imagination.
The twelve-song collection was recorded over ten days in May ’23 in an old church in Harlemville, NY. Having produced 2011’s Celebration Florida in a high school near their upper New York state home(s), novel recording locations are nothing new for the Felices: the group has learned to thrive on the spontaneity of such environs, so the approach stands them in good stead here.
But a mature craft is at work on this project too. For instance, the angelic, gospel-tinged vocal harmonies for “Candy Gallows” belie the acerbic tone of the title, an attitude that also permeates the lyrics; like most of the material here, the song was authored by the Felice Brothers themselves, guitarist Ian and keyboardist James, and the words are worth pondering even more than Ian’s eye-catching ‘cover’ painting.
Such is the deceptively tongue-in-cheek persona the group honed throughout albums like Undress and Favorite Waitress. What’s improved dramatically on this LP is the bond of this four-piece unit in evidence on cuts like “Strawberry Blonde:” bassist Jesske Hume and drummer Will Lawrence comprise the tightest and most authoritative rhythm section the band’s ever boasted.
Add in those two members’ strong voices, plus James’ consistently elegant piano throughout these forty-some minutes, and the Felice Brothers may not have been so versatile an ensemble as this since 2009’s Yonder Is The Clock. Group singing on “Teeth In The Tabloids” evokes latter-day Beatles as accurately as the pithy guitar break on “Macrame” hearkens to their mystical musical forebears from Woodstock, The Band. Further indicative of their evolution, though, the group has shed no overt influence from Bob Dylan.
Meanwhile, “Birds of the Wild West” is a bonafide singalong (drinking?) song. “Green Automobile” is a restrained but jaunty piece that contrasts well with the more thoughtful likes of the title tune. And apart from the unadorned but true-to-life audio, engineered, mixed, and mastered by the Felice Brothers’ co-producer Nate Wood, the astute track sequencing is indicative of an intrinsic attention to detail.
Still, the quartet is redefining economy with no small measure of informality too. Thus, like “When Susie Was A Skeleton,” most tracks here hover around the three and four-minute mark. The foursome hardly belabors the point(s) of a number like “Long Dead Street Musician,” either, but then how could they in a composition mentioning both Edgar Allen Poe and David Allan Coe?
As in that instance, the Felice Brothers’ enigmatic manner is sufficiently good-natured to remain winning rather than cryptic to a fault (and thus off-putting). Similarly, they pique their curiosity with the seventy-seven seconds of “Spring Gazing:” written by Ian and Hume from a poem by China’s Xue Tao, this cut almost seems like an auditory illusion.
Likewise, it was a surprise move for the group to release Asylum On The Hill, an action at which they had only hinted with a social media post just a few days prior. Issued exclusively on Bandcamp on December 15th ’23, the initial digital-only availability of the record is certainly in line with their career arc over the years, especially as recent information posted on the band’s website refers to yet another long-player coming in the summer of 2024.
In the meantime, this laudable project suggests in no uncertain terms that these scrappy independent thinkers deserve praise as much for their prolific nature as their instinctive trust in their creativity.
