THE THING WITH FEATHERS - AS IF IT’S ONLY ME AND YOU
The great Emily Dickinson once wrote “Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul, and sings the tune without the words, and never stops at all. And sweetest in the gale is heard; and sore must be the storm that could abash the little bird that kept so many warm. I’ve heard it in the chilliest land, and on the strangest sea; yet, never, in extremity, it asked a crumb of me”: one of the most significant poems to ever be composed within the 19th century. Named after such a beautiful poem is up-and-coming indie rock group The Thing With Feathers; keeping Dickinson’s art alive in some sense nearly 163 years later.
The trio composed of Dave Welsch (guitar, vox), Chris Roussell (drums), and Alex Hendricks (guitar) come out of the rich city of Nashville, Tennessee and they’ve just released their newest single: ‘As if It’s Only Me and You’. This is their 19th single, shortly following ‘Ready to Burn’ from November.
As If It’s Only Me and You opens with a riff pulled straight from the fires of the 1990s alt rock wave, reeking of Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age)’s style in particular. In comparison to the other works we’ve received from The Thing With Feathers, this piece is very clearly derived from rock foundations rather than indie or pop and that could symbolize where the trio is headed in terms of finding their sound.
From a percussion standpoint, As If It’s Only Me and You absolutely blew me away. I feel that unless a listener is specifically focusing on rhythm, drums get lost in translation more often than not in modern music but with this track, Chris Roussell defeats that understanding. His presence looms over the instrumentals and it keeps the song itself in a stranglehold that most drummers don’t even dream of. That kit is the heartbeat (no pun intended) of this piece but another aspect of the song that I can’t disregard is the vocals via Dave Welsch. As a fellow Midwest-native, something about Welsch’s vocal tone is alluring to me. Contrary to most rock vocalists who use raspier and “harder” techniques, Welsch approaches his work with a softer, more conventional style that is found in pop and even folk these days. It helps The Thing With Feathers to stand out amongst the sea of rock bands that are rising from the ashes in the industry right now.
The lyrics, though, seem to be what people find most charming about The Thing With Feathers across the board. Welsch is credited as the main lyricist and historically, their songs have been a fantastic outlet of storytelling for him. Some hold themes of love, loss, and even vengeance but the consistent thing is that his words hit home for others. As If It’s Only Me and You is more lustful and bold in nature, exuding what I can only describe as a youthful energy. Welsch sings of a personal story with the opening mantra being, you guessed it, “I wonder what you think we’ll do, as if it’s only me and you”.
All things considered, this new song is a step in the best possible direction for The Thing With Feathers. After this release, the trio is hunkering down to work on a record in their home city of Nashville. As a budding fan, I can only hope this means some tour dates will follow the ultimate album (please come to West Michigan).