Ferris & The Wheels 2015
Ferris & The Wheels
Fun ahoy: Nashville noisemakers cook up debut album to spin and observe.
Letting their hair down is modus operandi for this Tennessee quartet who follow their 2013’s EP “Hollow” with what’s purported to be a full-length album but, in fact, bares all its wares in less than half an hour. It’s one hell of a joyous ride, though, with a nice swing from the “lost” kind of desperation behind “Stuck In This Dam Hole” to the sweet self-rediscovery of “Found It”: all steeped in classic rock dynamics but given a dirty, serrated edge. The riffs are memorable, the hooks are punchy throughout, and the singalong choruses and background harmonies are bound to shake arenas, especially with heavy sway making room for hushed bits driven by infectious grooves courtesy of the Ayers brothers.
There’s a pop-minded, clownish catchiness to “Typical,” yet Geoff Ferris’ voice runs from a punky scream to delicate booming in the span of “I Got Something” whose menace is actually an angry challenge aimed at society and a statement of young man’s rights. Jake Lentner’s guitar has a blues bent when a solo comes up, even in the frenetic “Mania” – but not in the folk-kissed fairground playfulness behind “Last Parade” sharing its irresistibility. The whole album feels so palatable that one can savor it again and again. Just like a ride on a Ferris wheel.
****3/4
