RECORD REVIEW: The Fervor - Arise, Great Warrior
The Fervor - Arise, Great Warrior
Out now on Karate Body Records
You’re driving down some dusty road in New Mexico and the heap of junk you hired has slowly ground to a halt. It’s hot, the desiccated landscape holds no sign of civilisation and you have no phone signal, but you know there is a town about 10 miles away. You start walking with your travelling companion as the sun is just beginning to loosen its hold on the temperature. By the time you reach the town it’s dusk and the sun is slowly setting behind the hills. You find the only bar in town for some respite and as you sit down there is a band starting to play. The Fervor is this band. Even though The Fervor originate from Kentucky, and this is quite possibly a romanticised view of America, they have a raw, midnight desert, mysticism to their sound.
Apologies for the self-indulgent opening: this is actually a review for The Fervor’s latest album Arise, Great Warrior – at least some form of picture has been painted. The Fervor has teamed up with Yim Yames of My Morning Jacket to release the record through his label MMJ. The opening title track Arise, Great Warrior entices us in with some slow tinkering accompanied by the guttural yet restrained vocals of Natalie Felker; ageless lyrics conjuring images of battle fields and gallantry. The track then suddenly changes pace and finally erupts into an explosion of gritty guitar-fuelled bliss.
Lyrically this record is almost timeless; something which resonates over the entirety of album. These songs feel like they could have been written in another time. This is certainly a rock record, with a sound that is both overdriven and raw, but the whole album holds a mammoth amount of nostalgia and subtlety.
Album highlights include Loaded and Bent Around A Dying Dream. Starting with close echoed piano, which is then joined by its fellow instruments, Loaded offers a fabulous amount of space at times only to then kick back at just the right moment. Bent Around A Dying Dream meanwhile is a reasonably relaxed affair slowly building in intensity to finish off the record.
The Fervor know what sound they want and each song sticks to this formula for the entire record. This could be a criticism; on the first few listens Arise, Great Warrior is likeable but, over time, its affection grows as you become familiar with the atmosphere and quality of the song writing. Still, it is defiantly, for better or worse, fixed on a formula for its duration. If you like American rock music that overflows with atmosphere you will like this…possibly.
Charles Fletcher
3 Notes/ Hide
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