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Dunedin (unlike, say, Gore) is not a town in any way renowned for its association with country music, preferring instead a steady stream of guitar based indie rock with the odd weird experimental band to really push the boundaries. Although it would be unfair to label the Fea Street Hustle as simply a country band, their roots are most certainly buried in that fertile country soil in the same way that Wilco’s are, and like Wilco they take that strong footing and go somewhere else with it.
Their recently self released and self titled EP showcases the formidable song writing talent and musical prowess of this local four piece beginning with South of the River, an ode to (of course) both the South and the Southern Belles that inhabit said geography. And geography pervades the EP, the second song being an upbeat ditty that laments the passing of land from the ownership of locals to those with money, and the inevitable change for small communities.
It is on these first two songs that the [Fea Street Hustle] really imprint both their love of the initial country music form and their desire and impressive ability to take it somewhere else, instrumental passages building atmosphere aplenty as the music swells and fades. But the EP’s third song, Abandoned City, really showcases the talent here, the song drifting seemingly in on the breeze, images of desolation and dust, a plaintive electric slide making way for the yearning vocal and restrained drums, the song slowly building to the most beautiful instrumental passage, all loneliness and brooding.
While the music is obviously taken seriously, there is certainly a very palpable sense of humour shown too, particularly with regard to the subject matter of Manchester Street, a song dedicated to that infamous stretch of road in Christchurch’s central city. The EP is rounded out by She Rolled in Like a Rodeo, a song that revels in all that is glorious about Fea Street Hustle’s chosen idiom, mixing country bounce with a small dose of upbeat, driving rock ‘n’ roll, the lyrics evoking the classic themes of loneliness and a broken, deserted land.
As a debut recording this EP works extremely well, the beautiful packaging serving to reinforce the cohesiveness of the Fea Street Hustle’s vision. If there was any flaw in the EP it may be that the lead vocals don’t seem quite strong enough, seeming to be stretched by the range demanded by the music.
But this is a minor quibble, this is a very good, very assured recording and bodes well for any future releases from this promising young band.
By Dave Local
30.04.08
- www.dunedinmusic.com
The Fea Street Hustle are soon to leave us for Canadian shores and the chances to see them before then will be limited. Which will be a pity, since as a live band they are pure entertainment. While ostensibly being some sort of alt- country act (at least in the recording stakes) they produce a more rollicking, straight forward country sound in their live show. The more up-tempo numbers from their recently released EP are dutifully expounded upon and gleefully turned into dancefloor good times. The entertainment is led by the irrepressible drummer, leaping from his seat in joy and leading the crowd in clap alongs when the beat drops out, while the rest of the band bop and swing with huge grins across their faces. Inexplicably their choice of a cover is Pulp’s Common People, which at first seems somewhat incongruous but before long manages to seem perfectly natural.
The end of their set is a triumphant and rousing affair, country twang meeting good old fashioned rock ‘n’ roll and Fea Street Hustle are absolutely undeniable. They will be missed.
19.06.08 - www.dunedinmusic.com
In keeping with its "keep it fresh" ethos, Dunedin band Fea Street
Hustle has chosen St Kilda Surf CLub as the venue for its debut
EP release party this Saturday night.
Supported by two local outfits, Tono & the Finance Company, plus
Retrophonic Funk Machine, Fea St Hustle plans to make the show a
new and special experience for the audience.
"The Dunedin Scene's in a great place at the moment. There are
heaps of talented people creating and performing wicked stuff",
bass player Gareth Bedford said.
"It's just a sweet community to be part of, and to be able to
release our EP with support from two of our favourites is really
exciting for us.
Fea St Hustle first hit the stage in the OUSA Battle of the Bands
in May 2007, proving popular with its high-energy, alt-country
sound. A broad term, alt-country was coined in the 1990s to
describe the growing number of country-based bands moving outside
the traditions of mainstream country music.
Alt-country bands are often infused with a strong punk or rock
component, bending the traditional rules of country music.
Fea St Hustle draws its inspiration from some of the "renegades"
of country music, including Neil Young, The Band, Gram Parsons,
Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson, Steve Earle and more recently Ryan
Adams, Calexico and punk-country pioneers Uncle Tupelo.
"We don't really sound like any of these artists... we couldn't if
we tried", singer-guitarist Emerson Yeoman said. "But we've
definately been inspired by their willingness to take the country
song form and mess it up a bit, taking it to new places. That's
what we're trying to do and tried to capture on our E.P."
The full Hustle line-up, comprising Bedford, Yeoman, drummer Matty
Hegan, and lead guitarist Jonny Screech, bring many elements to
the band's sound - including punk, wall-of-sound guitars, sonic
meltdown and a delecate minimalism.
Recorded during an intense two day session at Sub Urb studios in
Hillside Rd, with local producer-engineer Paul Mclennan-Kissel,
the five song EP was almost called "Rural-Urban Drift".
"That sort of sums up what we're about - taking something that's
very rootsy and basic, and mixing it up with the loud energetic
sounds of the city," Yeoman said. - Dunedin Star
Excerpts:
"The Regent is an aesthetically stunning and acoustically beautiful theatre and on Saturday the 2nd of May it witnessed a music event equal to its grandeur. The “Pages from Dunedin” album release was a truly great success. The Regent was filled with all types; of course the local beatniks (students) attended in droves, as well as a colourful and cool array of folk of many ages.
"[Fea St Hustle] followed up their performance from the Organic Festival the night before with a superb end to the concert; although the microphoned drum may have made the songs slightly overproduced. They displayed exceptional vigour and stage presence. Bass player Gareth Bedford was having a mad old rock out and drummer Matty Hegan was just damn cool with his casual stick tossing routine. The [Fea St Hustle] boys are proving a revelation in the creative village that is Dunedin. Hana Fahy added the power and grace of her bluesy, soul tones to Fea St’s lively tunes. She was standout performer for many in the audience. "
By Kate Beecroft and Mike Handley
http://www.dunedinmusic.com/reviews/113/2 - www.dunedinmusic.com
Discography
Self Titled EP
Photos
Bio
If one was to throw Wilco, Sonic Youth, Whiskeytown, Morrisey, The Decemberists, Cash, Springsteen and a few other unspecified randoms into a blender, perhaps the resulting pulp would appear not too dissimilar to The Fea Street Hustle.
But now let’s be honest, how pretentious would a band have to be to claim such a hip and prestigious assortment in their whakapapa? Pretty pretentious I’m sure you agree, so enough of the ‘cool-by-association’ bollocks.
Crawling from the ashes of various musical projects sometime in 2007 the four lads, who now call themselves ‘The Fea Street Hustle’, came together in Dunedin, NZ, with the goal of writing quality songs based on a blend of folk-country balladry, kiwiana-esque story-telling, alternatively infused sonic exploration, and a fun, rollicking high-energy live show. Quickly established as an active, professional, and entertaining draw card on the local scene, The Hustle soon released their self-titled EP and hit the road with a successful summer tour of NZ (including such iconic venues as the ‘Wunderbar’ in Lyttleton, and Wellington’s ‘Bodega’).
Ever itchy-footed, The Hustle relocated to Canada for the latter half of 2008.
“Really!?” you may well ask. Were they ready? Were they successful enough, wealthy enough, and well-known enough after only one short year together to justify an attempt at international stardom? Of course not, but the idea dribbled from a bottle of 15yr-old Glenfiddich single malt one cold, wet, lonely Dunedin night, it seemed good at the time, and no one could think of any real reason why not.
Living on Commercial Drive, Vancouver B.C, The Hustle had a right royal time gigging the likes of The Main on Main, The Princeton in Vancouver’s notorious downtown east-side, and traversing the Rockies, braving winter snow storms, to play the legendary Canmore Hotel (and wrestle its ghosts) deep in the mountains of Alberta. Many of these antics and associated shenanigans chasing their favourite bands around the pacific north-west and frolicking among the fairytale scenery can be seen on their video blog at www.feastreethustle.com. Tired, broke, and feeling ready to wriggle their toes once again in the golden sands of a kiwi summer The Hustle had also grown tired of hearing “Sorry, the gig you had booked for the last 2 months has been cancelled coz the cops raided the venue last night and it’s been closed down…forever” from local promoters. Thus, bedraggled and weary, they headed for home, having had more fun than you can shake a stick at.
After a brief ‘post-international lethargy’ induced hiatus The Hustle return to the New Zealand scene, once again hitting audiences around the country with their infectious live energy and continuing to develop their unique alt/rock influenced folk-country sounds. Their return was appropriately marked by their backing of the ultra-smooth Hana Fahy and their animated closing set at the ‘Pages From Dunedin’ Album release in Dunedin’s historic Regent Theatre (www.horizonmusic.co.nz; www.myspace.com/pagesfromdunedin), performances still archetypal Hustle but indicating a tighter, more mature and experienced collective than that which departed the shores of Aotearoa some months earlier.
The Hustle have been described by local press as ‘absolutely undeniable’, ‘a revelation in the creative village that is Dunedin’, ‘pure entertainment’, and as possessing ‘formidable song writing talent and musical prowess’. Good golly! But what does The Hustle say when faced with such opinions? Aw, shucks, what can we say? We wouldn’t wanna talk it up now would we? We’ll give the last word to Dave, host of Radio One’s Thursday night Local Show:
"[The] Fea Street Hustle really imprint both their love of the initial country music form and their desire and impressive ability to take it somewhere else, instrumental passages building atmosphere aplenty as the music swells and fades. But the EP’s third song, Abandoned City, really showcases the talent here, the song drifting seemingly in on the breeze, images of desolation and dust, a plaintive electric slide making way for the yearning vocal and restrained drums, the song slowly building to the most beautiful instrumental passage, all loneliness and brooding… [But] while the music is obviously taken seriously, there is certainly a very palpable sense of humour shown too…"
So there be The Hustle experience. Come see us! Say hi after the show, buy our EP (or download it for free somewhere, or just steal it when we’re not looking), buy us a beer, or see if you can persuade us to give you a free one from our rider, book us at your venue, it’s your call, either way, we look forward to it!
Peace,
The Fea Street Hustle
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