It always pays to remember where you come from, and you can still hear the echo of Federale’s formative sonic days worn proudly on the sleeve of their latest album Reverb & Seduction. In fact, you can hear not just their early spaghetti-western cinematic sound but a whole series of sonic touchstones and alternative reference points that have been the guiding forces of their evolution as a band. I guess that you could say that about most bands; it’s just that Federal has been to places, sonically speaking, that many bands wouldn’t fear to tread.
Reverb & Seduction is, therefore, more than just a collection of great songs; it is a family tree of sounds, the story of the band’s musical exploits summed up, an auditory-auto-biography, and much more.
The first thing that you encounter, right from the opening strains of “Advice From A Stranger,” is Collin Hegna’s rich baritone, a lush and luxurious soundscape in itself, and here surrounded by the sort of post-punk tones and textures that shimmered through the music of The Church or brooded through The Mission’s hallowed harmonies.
“I’ll Never Forget” breezes delicately through on a lilting waltz groove, and “Hope You Don’t Haunt Me” has more than a touch of Ennio Morricone’s bruised sonic sense of romance and lawlessness. “No Strangers” leans into 60’s chamber pop, all shimmering elegance and cinematic elegance, and “The Worst Thing I Ever Did Was Ever Loving You” is a piece of swirling, alt-country meets seductive psychedelia, a collaboration with Jenny Dont that recalls the gorgeous duets of Lee Hazlewood & Nancy Sinatra.
As a record that marks the band’s twentieth anniversary, they could hardly have marked such an important date’s passing in a finer style. As an album that sums up the band’s sonic DNA, this speaks volumes.
Reverb & Seduction album order
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Advice From a Stranger video
