The Wild Feathers-Lonely Is A Lifetime

Lonely Is A Lifetime the new album from Nashville based The Wild Feathers sees the band consciously expanding their sound. They sound tight and focused on this record, the benefit of a couple of years of solid touring behind them. Where as their debut sounded like a bit of a mix between the Eagles and The Grateful Dead they have now added a few strings to their bow musically. Their writing has that distinct outsider feel, characters hell bent on self destruction, a sense of loss and a remembrance for the past.

One of the early signs that we are hearing a band starting to gather momentum is on Goodbye Song which takes a part of a leaf from the Pink Floyd Dark Side Of The Moon era and Gene Clark from his No Other period.

Goodbye song is what I sing
Take it as it comes
Cause it don't come easily
All I have is already mine
You got the money, you got the drugs, I got the time.

The defiant Don't Ask Me To Change whilst with a tinge of pop rock anthem surrounding it, swiftly veers away from heading into Matchbox Twenty territory. Happy Again is a bold country rocker, it has a darker take on what some people do to be happy. Leave Your Light On treads on familiar territory, life of on the road and those left behind.

Help Me Out is expansive, solid hooks but never drifting towards safe ground, it has the heaviness of someone carrying the world on their shoulders. This track also features some sterling guitar work from Taylor Burns who is an underrated player. The title track starts of with a doo wop style accapella vocal, the only accompaniment is a haunting acoustic guitar. On My Way is one of the reasons that I love this band, punchy melodic alt country rock with some precise guitar hooks. Overnight is another song that highlights the strength of this band, reminiscing of a happier past and looking for something positive to grab on too, it has some great melodies and harmonies.

Lonely Is A Lifetime is a great step forward for this band their sound continues to develop and their influences are starting to be more diverse, apart from the salute to Pink Floyd on Goodbye Song their are some of the cosmic influences of Gram Parsons on this album.