Listen: Feature - "Psalms"

07 May 2014, 13:45 | Written by Rebecca Jayne Higgins

(Tracks)

(Feature)

Feature initially gave us a taste of their expertise at creating fuzzy, punk-tinged, lo-fi sounds on their first short but sweet four-track release, Memory, in 2013. On “Psalms”, the opener of their new EP, Feature’s style of punk-influenced drone-pop has been refined, adding monumental energy and a faster pace to an already impressive sound.

With the release of the new and much anticipated EP, Culture Of The Copy (interestingly influenced, in both title and content, by the Hillel Schwartz book of the same name), opening track “Psalms” is an energetic, fuzzy re-introduction into how Feature manage to perfectly fuse together the enticing attitude and urgency of punk with soft, almost innocent sounding vocals that recall Kim Deal (The Breeders) or Waxahatchee’s Katie Crutchfield.

Allowing the trio to experiment with sweetly sung vocals and a fast-paced yet still slightly heavy sound, “Psalms” has the late 90s riot grrrl attitude of early Sleater-Kinney, the effortlessly cool, unshakeable confidence of PINS, and an interesting, individual style heightened by celestial vocals. “Psalms” is proof that a girl can sing in the sweetest tone in the world but can retain dark or sinister elements (and that’s dark and sinister in the best possible way, by the way). If 2013’s Memory was brimming with a sense of promise, and “Psalms” is an indication of the music crafted on Culture Of The Copy, then Feature have not only managed to live up to the anticipation - they’ve far surpassed it.

Culture Of The Copy is out now via Tye Dye Tapes (digital download and limited cassette tapes).

Live dates:

24 April - Power Lunches, London (w/ Sweetheart)
26 April - Good Job, Bermondsey, London (w/ Poisonous Relationship, Frau & Don’t Argue)
3 May - Power Lunches, London (w/ Keel Her, Joey Fourr & Sweetheart) (EP launch)
10 May - The Great Escape Festival (various venues)
23 May - The Victoria Dalston, London
19 July - TBC, Nottingham (w/ Witching Waves)