The Bella Fayes

The third CD from Portland, Oregon-based The Bella Fayes follows through on their previous efforts, demonstrating an evolved sophistication in song-craft while maintaining the energy of their frantic live shows. Having built a reputation for their great on stage chemistry, The Bella Fayes made a conscious decision to record this album in the spirit of capturing that remarkable group dynamic. Everything was tracked live within seven days in order to preserve a stripped-down quality. Far From The Discos was produced and mixed by Gregg Williams (Dandy Warhols). Equally inspired by classic rock tunesmiths as by the attitude and angular riffs of modern indie rockers, this format showcases the rebellious and refined songwriting talents of a band fully coming into its own. With impassioned vocals and a brash, rock solid band confident in flirting with the outer edges of pop music, The Bella Fayes are right at home alongside groups like the White Stripes and the Strokes. (Sissy Conspiracy) - Jules Holebrook

Produced by Gregg William (not to be confused with the defensive coordinator of the Washington Redskins), this is pure “The” garage rock. Yes, they live up to their moniker with gusto. Fortunately for them and us, they do it in a good way unlike like the other plethora of crappy “The” bands who somehow tricked the music industry and its army of A&R folks that it’s a good thing to rip off The Rolling Stones and repackage it with nifty hairdo’s and bad black and white and red suits. Trends come and go and this is already starting to pass but maybe bands like The Bella Fayes will do it so well that a whole new slew of copycats will come calling.

- J-Sin - Smother.net

Much has been said about the return of rock. The Strokes, The White Stripes, The Hives, when do you not read about these bands? Their brand of garage-infused rock has offered hope to musicians and music fans, as stock in the song has risen, with more and more bands making it onto the radio without the force-fed hook at every corner.
The Bella Fayes' The Truth in a Beautiful Lie joins the ranks above the bands, without the commercial success (yet!).
Here is an infectious, rocking good time; the type of album you can crank and party to, sing along with driving in your car, or, if lyrics are your thing, you can sit down, with the booklet, and absorb the songs as you think about their meaning.
The opening hook of "Feel Like I Wanna Feel" screams radio hit, while the lyrics remind you of that girl you couldn't get out of your head, even as she screwed around town over and over again ("every boy down on the street/ has seen the bottom of her feet/ can't keep her down/ it's hard to keep her around/ I gotta feel like I wanna feel... it's alright").
"Wake It Up..." has the tough duty of following up the irresistible "Feel Like I Wanna Feel", though it seems up to the change. Another out-of-the-box hit with its "hey" chorus and mid temp garage rock roar, The Bella Fayes make no bones about it as they play loud and hard, maintaining balance between hook-laden and rock mayhem.
The danceable "Tables Will Turn" melds more garage rock with classic pop a la Elvis Costello. And "Trying To Find A Way" builds and builds before hitting an anti-climatic chorus that sends shivers down your spine.
Let's make one thing clear, though. The Bella Fayes are not a trend-hopping band by any means. The gentle "Poolside" caresses the best of the singer-songwriter, brought into the rock band format via a pop transport, and delivered slow and sweet, melting hearts as the band delivers a melodic, dream-inducing song of tranquil proportions.
The highest point on The Truth in a Beautiful Lie is "The Girl Most Likely To", a glowing, pop-soaked garage rocker, complete with a vibrant splash or organ to color up the landscape.
The Bella Fayes are a rock and roll band able to stretch their wings and deliver tender ballads ("In The Transistor's Glow") or screaming rockers with enough restraint to forgo going in the punk route ("Come"), but bold enough to take any punk band head-on and win.
The reason this band works is front man Lael Alderman's voice, an overly emotive voice that finds his heart and soul seeping out of his body every time he opens his mouth to deliver his poignant songs. Even when he's just trying to rock out and have a good time, he can't escape the honesty of his voice, and this propels the songs to a new level.
This is solid rock music that knows how to deliver a catchy, digestible song without compromising itself. I'll give this an A.
- Alex Steininger

Lael Alderman has one of those voices that enable even the heaviest pop/rock songs to keep a sense of feeling and sincerity to them (Think Jay Clifford of Jump Little Children, Kevin Griffin of Better than Ezra, and Black Francis of the Pixies). Whether it's the rock anthem opening song "Feel Like I Wanna Feel" or the down tempo twang of the closing song "In the Transistor's Glow" Alderman keeps in total control of the mood without slowing down. To us Oregonians that frequent the Portland venues this is nothing new, and certainly not unwelcome. In the tradition of Pinehurst Kids, Everclear, Heatmiser, The Dandy Warhols, and Floater (to name a few...the list goes on and on, really) The Bella Fayes look to be the next in a long line of great rock bands to come out of the Portland scene. - Indie Al

NOTE FROM THE WRITER: There’s something that eats at me when I get new records that sound so damn good that I can only figure that the people who made it were thinking all along, "Damn, this is the sound…this is the one they won’t be able to get by. They’ll be hooked."
I, of course, refuse to fall into their lame trap. I am, after all, a punk at heart, and no sweet sound will knock me off my perch I’ll tell ya. I ain’t having it. Who do these people think they are, trying to slip crafty rock’n’pop noises past my first impressions and plant them into my psyche? Ha! I’m better than that people. I am, after all is said and done, a PROFESSIONAL by trade. Time, as it were, is on MY side, not yours. I’ll see through your games. I’ll fish out your points of reference. I’ll be the King Critic. And I WILL pass judgment.
You might sound good to me from the get go, but I’ll turn the critical burners up high so as to bring my rockroll cynicism to a vicious boil. No matter how damn good you sound, I’m not your fool. I’m a vicious, cynical, hipper-than-thou bastard. I like the Mekons.
ADDENDUM: Okay, so you can slip one by me with a coupla sugar sweet cover girls on your disc…I’ll admit that much. I am a sucker for beauty. And maybe, as I’ve done before, I’ll slide your disc in and give her a whirl while I gaze at your fanciful artwork. And there is a chance I’ll hear your cleverly sequenced best-songs-up-front disc go through some nifty motions for, of, eight-to-ten minutes…but I know this game well. You won’t get much farther than…
APOLOGY: Okay, yeah, I apologize. But ONLY to these cats called The Bella Fayes (from, oh hell I don’t recall, I think Portland, Oregon? Wher-ever…just wish it was somewhere near you). I do like the Mekons. But I’m not hipper than anyone. I am hardly vicious (in fact I have been called a cowering sissy before – but those guys were BIG, and wearing leather, and had tattoo’s and piercing’s). And have grown so fed up of this rockwrite thing because of the pervasive cynicism that runs so rampant in its confines that I’m about to call it quits. I know, I know…no great loss. Keep it to yourself.
I love…no I LOVE this record by The Bella Fayes. They call it The Truth in a Beautiful Lie – which, as a pretend writer, is something that I feel very comfortable with. Lying that is – and the small truths in every gigantic lie I spew.
But I’m being honest when I say that this thing gets me all giddy when I listen to it (yeah, you’re taking your chances with me now – I know that). In fact, when I got the thing I was opening it up and explaining to my good friend Lucas that most of the music that comes my way these days don’t do all that much for my aging spirit. I held the pretty girls on the Bella Faye disc up for emphasis.
"Here goes another waste of time," I said. I pressed ‘play’ and…well I heard this guy groaning "feel like I wanna feel" over and over while some cats in the background cooed "ahhhlll-right", and I smiled.
"Christ man," said Lucas. "That’s healthy."
I smiled, "Very healthy."
"They can’t keep it up can they?" Lucas wondered aloud. I was about to admit that they probably couldn’t and that I was just glad to hear a good rockroll song, even if it were the only one, when these crazy fuckers from Oregon, or Washington, or wherever they hail from, cross faded into a track two that featured a whole mess of very unfashionable "Hey!…Hey now!" chanting over a buzz and scream of guitar racket.
"Shit." It’s all Lucas could muster up.
"Yeah," I said, "shit indeed."
I was sweating.
I like that word: Unfashionable. I, in fact, love the word and consider it to be my highest possible compliment to any given rockroll band. Well, probably the second highest compliment…the first and foremost rockroll praiseworthiness being how much I enjoy drinking a beer to their music, and Lucas and I savored a dozen or so while playing this stuff to death that night.
"They look like a bunch of fucking janitor’s," Lucas said, looking at the innards of the accompanying CD booklet.
"Who?" I asked boozily oblivious.
"These guys," he snapped, waving the booklet around like he was shooing flies away.
"Oh, this band?"
"Christ man, yes, this fucking band! These guys look like janitors."
I smiled. I grabbed another beer from the cooler and tossed it to Lucas.
"When I was in high school," I said as I fished the icy waters for my own beer. "The janitor was he guy who sold everyone pot."
Lucas raised his beer gesturing a toast. I snapped mine open, took a swig, and rose my own beer.
"To janitors," he said. "The most unfashionable people in the world."
"To janitors," I repeated. "And the rock and roll you damn well know they’d love."
- Kurt Hernon

Well, first let me say that it is good to hear a CD with lots of guitar. Not only is there lots of it, but it’s really rockin’. Okay glad I got that out of my system! Now to the important stuff.
The Bella Fayes is a high energy band that hails from the northwest part of the USA. These guys have been working hard, touring, recording and they just signed a deal with Del computers to put their music on every Del computer to promote Del’s music features.
The vocals subscribe to the Mick Jagger and Michael Stipe standard where singing almost in key is good enough. The guitar is heavy, yet shows pop sensibilities. And the drums and bass are tight! I am puzzled at the very modern recording sound of the guitar, bass and vocals while the drums sound more like the Eagles in the 70’s when you would tape a heavy wallet to the snare drum.
The Bella Fayes have some really great songs like "Tables Will Turn" and "The New Shame". However, on The Truth In A Beautiful Lie there are numerous songs that I fear will blend in to the FM back ground noise between the hits we are all waiting for.
They’re not the best studio band I’ve ever heard, but I wouldn’t want to miss one of their live shows. I can tell from their recording that the live performances are full of high energy and lots of memorable antics.
- onemanpuppetshow