Simone Felice – Simone Felice (26/04/2012)
Often, from great pain comes great art, and on all accounts, this should be true of Simone Felice.
After a brain aneurysm at the age of 12 left him severely disabled, Felice was put to the arduous task of having to relearn basic motor skills, such as reading and writing. He not only overcame these trials, but excelled in life, becoming well known in the New York creative arts scene as a poet, author and, of course, musician.
Unfortunately, however, the hard times did not stop there. A number of personal and physical hardships later plagued the seasoned instrumentalist, which spurred him on to write songs that would later feature in the catalogue of his bands The Felice Brothers and The Duke and the King.
Being adorned for his for this honest and personal work, Felice has been recognised has having immense lyrical talent within his music, as well as his writing.
However, whilst these struggles have ignited Felice to write sensational songs of love and loss in the past, it seems within his self-titled debut solo album that those memorable poetic gestures are nowhere to be seen.
A wash of mediocre tracks that struggle to evoke emotion, the album falls short of what should be expected of the singer/songwriter. Unfortunately, each song seems to have the same ingredients, making the offering mostly quite bland and tasteless.
Starting promisingly with ‘Hey Bobby Ray’, Felice’s vocal style sparks memories of a more mature era of folk, akin to days of Simon and Garfunkel or Cat Stevens. The track begins starkly but soon swells into quite an impressive chorus, which includes an all female choir from Felice’s hometown. However, from there, the album declines.
‘You and I Belong’ offers the only up-tempo moment on the album, complete with hand clapping and whistling, however, its repetition within the chorus soon becomes over bearing, tarnishing the joyful nature of the music.
As the remainder of the songs roll on, it becomes clear that nothing more will come from the album bar dreamy melodies that wash over you like never ending haze. ‘Dawn Brady’s Sun’, ‘Courtney Love’ and ‘Gimme All You Got’ all present pleasant music and narratives. But that’s just it; they’re only just pleasant. They don’t ignite passion, or excite the soul. Rather, they become mind numbingly tedious, causing you to settle into a heavy, blissed out stupor.
It is no question that Felice has talent. His ability to weave heartbreaking narratives into haunting and memorable melodies has been well documented in the past. However, he has sadly not employed these gifts to their full potential within this record, resulting in a lack-luster album that holds little place within your mind or heart. Here’s hoping that with his next release, he can reign in that superb talent and show the world what he is truly made of.
Lauren Morton
After a brain aneurysm at the age of 12 left him severely disabled, Felice was put to the arduous task of having to relearn basic motor skills, such as reading and writing. He not only overcame these trials, but excelled in life, becoming well known in the New York creative arts scene as a poet, author and, of course, musician.
Unfortunately, however, the hard times did not stop there. A number of personal and physical hardships later plagued the seasoned instrumentalist, which spurred him on to write songs that would later feature in the catalogue of his bands The Felice Brothers and The Duke and the King.
Being adorned for his for this honest and personal work, Felice has been recognised has having immense lyrical talent within his music, as well as his writing.
However, whilst these struggles have ignited Felice to write sensational songs of love and loss in the past, it seems within his self-titled debut solo album that those memorable poetic gestures are nowhere to be seen.
A wash of mediocre tracks that struggle to evoke emotion, the album falls short of what should be expected of the singer/songwriter. Unfortunately, each song seems to have the same ingredients, making the offering mostly quite bland and tasteless.
Starting promisingly with ‘Hey Bobby Ray’, Felice’s vocal style sparks memories of a more mature era of folk, akin to days of Simon and Garfunkel or Cat Stevens. The track begins starkly but soon swells into quite an impressive chorus, which includes an all female choir from Felice’s hometown. However, from there, the album declines.
‘You and I Belong’ offers the only up-tempo moment on the album, complete with hand clapping and whistling, however, its repetition within the chorus soon becomes over bearing, tarnishing the joyful nature of the music.
As the remainder of the songs roll on, it becomes clear that nothing more will come from the album bar dreamy melodies that wash over you like never ending haze. ‘Dawn Brady’s Sun’, ‘Courtney Love’ and ‘Gimme All You Got’ all present pleasant music and narratives. But that’s just it; they’re only just pleasant. They don’t ignite passion, or excite the soul. Rather, they become mind numbingly tedious, causing you to settle into a heavy, blissed out stupor.
It is no question that Felice has talent. His ability to weave heartbreaking narratives into haunting and memorable melodies has been well documented in the past. However, he has sadly not employed these gifts to their full potential within this record, resulting in a lack-luster album that holds little place within your mind or heart. Here’s hoping that with his next release, he can reign in that superb talent and show the world what he is truly made of.
Lauren Morton