Felix & Lyons
Chicago, Illinois, United States
Music
Press
Popular music today often feels like an assault on the senses, with frenetic energy and eclectic sounds—in a word: frills. That’s why listening to Chicago folk quartet Felix & Lyons is so refreshingly simple.
On “The Fuel, The Fire, The Spark,” from their debut album Something between Us, the track is led by Jason Peters on the upright bass. Combined with Peters’ bassline, Christian Felix’s vocals provide a measured, precise sonic experience. Felix’s voice is undoubtedly unique—it fluctuates somewhere between The B-52’s’ Fred Schneider’s hybrid speaking-singing sprechgesang style and Johnny Cash’s rich, deep tone. When coupled with Felix & Lyons’ second singer, Kendra Lyons, the band successfully generates some great back-and-forth lyrical dialogue.
Felix & Lyons self-identify as “Johnny Cash & June Carter meets The xx” on their Facebook. While they may not play music as buoyant as Johnny Cash & June Carter or as sleek as The xx, Felix & Lyons do succeed at playing stripped-down, heartfelt indie folk. - Loud Loop Press
Discography
"Something Between Us"-2012
Photos
Bio
Sporting such elegantly performed and smartly written duets, New Mexico natives Christian Felix & Kendra Lyons moved to Chicago just two years ago, but they could've truly come from another era altogether. Though co-ed pairs have taken center stage nationally as of late - She & Him, The Civil Wars - here's a team that not only exudes such natural sounds, but is wise beyond their years when it comes to putting pen to paper. It's that maturity that has brought them opportunities to perform along side a wide range of national acts, from Daniel Johnston to ZZ Ward.
Having begun performing in college back in Santa Fe, Felix & Lyons maintains a flexibility that eludes other acts of their ilk: Having added drummer Tom Benko and Jason Peters on bass around September of last year (right around the time their debut album Something Between Us dropped), Christian and Kendra remain just as powerful with a backing band as they are standing shoulder-to-shoulder against the world.
Despite the change of scenery, their tunes have an old-west quality but not in a faux, alt-country sense. These are songs with true grit, often accompanied by thunderous, distant percussion (as on the charging "Broke My Heart"), stories of complex love ("Open the Door," where Felix plays the nearly baritone Johnny to Kendra's June Carter-Cash) or ghostly tales of travel, like on the charming "N. Bethesda." Having passed through several of Chicago's top clubs - Cubby Bear, Goose Island, Beat Kitchen, Bottom Lounge, Hard Rock and Uncommon Ground among them - this is a group well on their way to commanding a substantial local - if not, national - following.
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