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The Felice Brothers, 'The Felice Brothers'

Appalachian roots rockers' debut shows much promise—and a heavy Dylan influence

By Andy Hermann

Metromix
March 3, 2008

Critic's Rating:

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Backstory: For fans of Americana, the Felice Brothers’ biography is almost too good to be true. Raised in the Catskill Mountains just up the road from Woodstock, N.Y., brothers Ian, James and Simone Felice moved to New York only a year ago with a friend named Christmas, a “runaway dice-thrower and chancer” (OK, that part they probably made up). There they were “discovered” busking on the subway by a writer for Vice magazine, who helped break the band in England, which eventually led to a friendship with Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst and a signing to his Team Love label.

Why you should care: Whether you believe every last detail of the brothers’ history (their self-released—and now impossible to find—album “Adventures of the Felice Brothers Vol. 1” was allegedly recorded in a chicken coop), their music has a pleasingly ramshackle quality that’s hard to come by these days, evoking the scruffy barroom folk-rock of the Band and Bob Dylan.

Verdict: At their best, the Felice Brothers capture the energy of dustbowl troubadours like Arlo Guthrie and an old-timey, traveling jug band. Ian Felice is a carny barker of a frontman, selling the lyrics to “Take This Bread” and “The Greatest Show on Earth” with a nod and a wink over drunken horns and James’ barrelhouse piano. The Felices also have a flair for clever character sketches (“Helen Fry”) and Tom Waits–ish waltzes (“Ruby Mae”), which showcase the multi-talented James’ wheezing accordion. But for all the talk of authenticity surrounding this band, it’s hard not to notice how much Ian’s vocals on ballads like “Saint Stephen’s End” ape the timbre and phrasing of “Highway 61”–era Dylan. So the Felice Brothers still have a ways to go before they can climb out from under the weight of their influences—although gorgeous moments like the stately “Murder by Mistletoe” are a big step in the right direction.

X-Factor: Less than a year after playing in the New York subway for spare change, the Felice Brothers played Radio City Music Hall as Bright Eyes’ opening act.

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