Dinosaur Feathers look to Janet Jackson for spiritual guidance on their groove-laden third albumCONTROL. Insistent drum machines & lithe pulsing basslines meet shimmering synths, coked-out horns & soulful vocals, dragging 1983 pop/R&B kicking & screaming into the new millennium. Master of ceremonies Greg Sullo hooked up with production gurus Naptimes to update (downdate?) & amplify what the New York Times called “[their] sinisterly effective pop melodies.”
Dinosaur Feathers first emerged from Brooklyn’s sweaty DIY scene as an irrepressibly upbeat synthesis of indie rock & world music influences, replete with intricate soaring vocal harmonies. The group then charted a course from tropical leisure to nervy beach rock via substantial touring with acts like Built to Spill and Peter Bjorn & John. Most recently, Sullo committed to an extended stay in Oakland, where he found himself progressively drawn toward Motown soul & funky R&B – from Smokey to Chaka, Prince to Janet. His vocal performances here clearly reflect an affinity for such material, supported by a catalog of disparate secondary influences, from Scott Walker to Drake.
Indebted to the grace & precision of songwriters like Harry Nilsson & Curtis Mayfield, these songs are the most direct & propulsive Sullo has committed to tape– err…digital bits. Lyrics deliver meditations on subjects at once intimate & divine, searching for meaning: “Do you think it’s true, what they say/We all will die alone?/But maybe that’s the only way to pass into the Unknown.” Even the most cosmically vexing elements prove eminently relatable — in the confessional, on the dancefloor & in the bedroom. All things considered, CONTROL offers up a rejoinder for those curious enough to ask, “What have you done for me lately?”
CONTROL tracklist:
1. Afternoon Sun
2. Zeitgeist
3. When You Coming Out
4. Fools
5. For Jonathan
6. Anything You Want
7. On My Mind
8. Impossible
9. Trip
Dinosaur Feathers tour dates:
9/24 – Slim’s – Raleigh, NC
9/25 – Cat’s Crade – Carrboro, NC
9/26 – 529 – Atlanta, GA
9/27 – Maxine’s – Hot Springs, AR
9/28 – Cheer Up Charlie’s – Austin, TX
10/2 – The Bancroft – San Diego, CA $
10/3 – El Cid – Los Angeles, CA $
10/4 – The Night Light – Oakland, CA
10/5 – Blackbird Annex – San Jose, CA
10/7 – Valentine’s – Portland, OR
10/10 – Pocket Theater – Seattle, WA
10/11 – Neurolux – Boise, ID
10/14 – Grinnell College – Grinnell, IA
10/15 – The Hex – Minneapolis, MN
10/16 – Carleton College – Northfield, MN
10/17 – Linneman’s – Milwaukee, WI %
10/18 – The Burlington – Chicago, IL %
10/19 – Come Together Space – Bloomington, IL
* – w/Laser Background
$ – w/Detangler
% – w/The Fatty Acids
