INDIE MUSIC DEFINITELY WORTH HEARING
by Ernest Barteldes

The Feathermerchants
Unarmed Against The Dark
12th Street Records
Release : July 2003
Internet: http://feathermerchants.com

Whenever I hear about a new release from a New York indie band, I seem to cringe with the anticipation of hearing something that might sound too pretentious. That either means lyrics that only the writer can understand or music that is so elaborate in an attempt to show off virtuosity that the sound simply cannot connect with the audience, unless you mean those are formed by snobs who don't have a clue about what is going on there but pretend to do so in order to belong to some kind of crowd that they might be a part of.

That, alas, is not the case of the Feathermerchants, who are releasing their new album, Unarmed Against The Dark.

Upon hearing the album, the first things that strike you are the softness and clarity of newcomer vocalist Shannon Kennedy, and also how hummable their songs are, despite the sometimes difficult lyrics(not a pattern in the album - it is something present in only a couple of the songs).

One of the best tracks in the album is Brooklyn Ferry, which seems be a reaction to the events of 9/11 in New York City(shortly after the attacks, the mayor launched a temporary free ferry service from Brooklyn to Manhattan, which has since been taken over by a private company). The band (augmented by keyboardist Chuck Leavell, from Eric Clapton's touring band) plays the song in a straightforward way that gives the perfect backdrop for Kennedy's heartfelt vocals that talk about a boy who wonders about people who "burned his city to the ground".

Also very impressing is Ursuline, with its accomplished Middle-Eastern inspired arrangement in a song that talks about a plead for forgiveness for "plucking your most precious petals" - clearly a reference to the tension in the Middle East (there's also a line about "virgin martyrs").

I didn't quite like Farmers Night Out, in which composer and guitarist Pete Veru takes the microphone. The lyrics are a bit confusing, and Veru's vocals seem a bit tentative, as if he were uncomfortable as a lead vocalist.

Kennedy debuts as a songwriter in the band in "Daffodils", a very pleasant song that reminds us of Alanis Morissette without the screams. If the vocalist is a fan, she plays homage competently by doing something in the Canadian's singer "bay" without exactly doing "her".

You should also keep you ears open to "All The Way Home", which again features Chuck Leavell, although his presence on this one is far more subtle than on "Brooklyn Ferry". The energy is great(no wonder it is the opening track", and the music is extremely hummable.

If the Feathermerchants sound half as good live( I haven't, as of this writing, had the opportunity to see them perform) as they do on the record, I believe that they have a bright future ahead, as you will agree once you hear this record, which I can truly recommend.