Albums Rock

PNW Spotlight: Fever Feel leads the way to a rock resurgence

The Victoria, B.C., band roots true 60s rock in modern day with its debut full length album

PNW Spotlight: Fever Feel leads the way to a rock resurgence September 14, 2018

Raised by a single mother in the suburbs of Detroit, Dan discovered an early passion for singing, songwriting, and the arts as a whole. She got her BA in English and music at the University of Michigan, where she reported for the school’s paper, The Michigan Daily. She worked as a Senior News Reporter on the government beat, transitioned to arts writing, and eventually became the managing editor of the social media department. She moved to Seattle in 2017. After losing her job during the COVID-19 pandemic and discouraged about the lack of press surrounding Seattle’s music scene, Dan made the decision to turn Dan’s Tunes, a fully fledged music journalism website focused on showcasing the Seattle area’s musicians, into its own startup. There’s so much music happening in the city that spawned Pearl Jam, Nirvana, and Jimi Hendrix — among others — and Dan’s Tunes is determined to find and expose those outstanding acts. The goal is to have satellites in every major US city, uplifting diverse and compelling voices and helping music communities thrive. In 2020, Dan was featured in the Seattle Times’s year-end music critic poll. Other than her musical endeavors (singing, playing ukulele, and auditioning for American Idol four times before the age of 24) Ray is passionate about food and education around the American food system, and she’s also a large proponent of eliminating the stigma around mental health. Ray loves cats, especially her own, who is named Macaulay Culkin (but she’s a lady).

Fever Feel performs at Conor Byrne Pub in Ballard. // Photo by Andreas Kasprzok

Out September 14th, Victoria, B.C.,’s Fever Feel’s debut, self-titled, full length album listens like a wedding party between the entire catalog of The Doors and “I Am The Walrus” on the set of Boogie Nights. In the grand landscape of the EDM takeover, Fever Feel feels like it’s leading the way down a path of rediscovery: the instruments are undoubtedly actual, real, tangible pieces; one of those instruments is an organ (played by Thomas Platt), which adds a layer of experimentation to this already honest rock trio — filled out by bassist and vocalist Landon Franklin and guitarist Logan Gabert; and their music is fairly equally comprised of vocal and instrumental storytelling.

Storytelling, of any kind, is difficult, but Fever Feel rises above the basics of plot by masterfully capturing the sound of an entire decade while still managing to root itself in the modern era. “Who Are You,” the fourth track on the album, is reminiscent of olden days’ recording, with laughter from the band members and radio-esque voice recordings sprinkled throughout the track, but the tinkling bell sounds and overall production of the track don’t let it fall into trite territory.

The sixth track, “Good Morning Babe,” exquisitely mimics The Doors’ “People are Strange,” but the breakdown in the middle of the song brings in the more measured rock influences of today, as opposed to the often (wonderfully) uncontained guitar solos of the 60s. (That’s not to say Fever Feel doesn’t contain some awesomely wild breakdowns: see “Lose Your Mind,” “Spitting Silver,” or “Flowers For Breakfast.”)

The most interesting aspect of this album, though, is how some of the tunes rise upwards of six minutes, a couple are the usual three to four, and the previously mentioned “Who Are You,” which consists mostly of ambient sounds layered above a flowing drum beat, clocks in at one minute and 48 seconds. Yet, none of that seems to matter.

Oftentimes, a wide discrepancy in track-time can be confusing and jarring as a listener — are we listening to a pop album or the great ramblings of rock ‘n’ roll? — but the intricacy that Fever Feel puts in gives each track its own distinct personality that weave together to create a complete persona: think “Inside Out.” Without Sadness, the whole thing just falls apart.

Next to “Spitting Silver,” which opens the album and sets the stage for the incredibly versatile instrumentation to come, the fifth track, “Flowers For Breakfast,” stands out as the shining tune. It starts out, “flowers for breakfast / coffee for tea / would you take a look around / don’t you feel what it means?” I felt like Will Ferrell in “Blades of Glory:” “no one knows what it means, but it’s provocative!” “Flowers For Breakfast” tells a story of lust, creativity, and hunger from the opening note.

Fever Feel is a modern rock album that can just as easily blend into the background as come to the forefront — its undeniable musicality adds a sense of wonder to any occasion and also allows it to take center stage on its own.

9.9

Instrumentation

10.0/10

Production

9.8/10

Experimentation

9.8/10

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Raised by a single mother in the suburbs of Detroit, Dan discovered an early passion for singing, songwriting, and the arts as a whole. She got her BA in English and music at the University of Michigan, where she reported for the school’s paper, The Michigan Daily. She worked as a Senior News Reporter on the government beat, transitioned to arts writing, and eventually became the managing editor of the social media department. She moved to Seattle in 2017. After losing her job during the COVID-19 pandemic and discouraged about the lack of press surrounding Seattle’s music scene, Dan made the decision to turn Dan’s Tunes, a fully fledged music journalism website focused on showcasing the Seattle area’s musicians, into its own startup. There’s so much music happening in the city that spawned Pearl Jam, Nirvana, and Jimi Hendrix — among others — and Dan’s Tunes is determined to find and expose those outstanding acts. The goal is to have satellites in every major US city, uplifting diverse and compelling voices and helping music communities thrive. In 2020, Dan was featured in the Seattle Times’s year-end music critic poll. Other than her musical endeavors (singing, playing ukulele, and auditioning for American Idol four times before the age of 24) Ray is passionate about food and education around the American food system, and she’s also a large proponent of eliminating the stigma around mental health. Ray loves cats, especially her own, who is named Macaulay Culkin (but she’s a lady).