Splendour of Fear [Import]

Felt (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 1, 2003)
• Original Release Date: 1984
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Cherry Red UK
• ASIN: B00009MKPZ
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #66,503 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Splendour, July 1, 2005

By 

Mark Champion "autumnfair" (San Antonio, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Splendour of Fear (Audio CD)

'Splendour' is right. This is quintessential Felt, with guitarist Maurice Deebank still in the band. The sound is mellow, melodic, understated, lovely . . . I wonder if Gary Ainge's drumkit even had cymbals; his minimalism is a major part of the effect of this music. 'Mexican Bandits' was released as a single - - a shimmering and driving instrumental. And it's the instrumental passages that work best, not to detract from Lawrence 'Lawrence' Hayward's breathy, (Lou) Reedy vocals and beautifully imagistic lyrics. It's just that the music is staggeringly imagistic on its own - - 'The Stagnant Pool', with its extended instrumental coda, is as languorous and humid as its title suggests. The effect is psychedelic, whatever the intent. And Deebanks's solo closer, 'A Preacher In New England' is everything The Durutti Column aspired to. Really - - this is a great mini-album, too short by half.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Felt in all their wonderfully murky, dreamy excess, January 14, 2009

By 

Lypo Suck (Hades, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Splendour of Fear (Audio CD)

The spare, guitar-based art-pop sketches of the debut, Crumbling the Antiseptic Beauty, give way to a fuller, more fleshed-out sound here on their 2nd album, The Splendour of Fear. The more solid and forceful rhythmic foundation is a welcome shift, and luckily it doesn't detract from the wonderfully hypnotic atmosphere singer Lawrence and lead guitarist Maurice Deebank conjure with the intricate, delicate, highly melodic mesh of their guitars. Drenched in a murky but alluring and sometimes shimmery atmosphere, producer John Rivers perfectly captures and enhances the dreamy haze in which this period of Felt's music was clearly intended to evoke. Lengthy instrumental passages dominate (only two songs feature vocals); sometimes lazy, other times fairly intense. "The World is as Soft as Lace" is a dizzyingly beautiful, low-key standout, defined by Deebank's soaring, majestic melodic guitar, and Lawrence's gentle, acoustic strumming and brooding croon. Felt's pop side in a nutshell. Despite this album's strangely soothing brand of melancholy and offbeat, 'downer' vibe, it may not be the best starting point for newcomers, who should instead start with the poppier (but no less riveting or melodic) Strange Idols Pattern. This record goes down a bit easier once you're already familiar with Felt's aesthetic.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Timeless and just Awesome!, August 17, 2010

By 

great horse (georgia) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Splendour of Fear (Audio CD)

I love Felt! great band and I have all of their recordings. This one is probably my favorite in their whole catalogue. Dreamy Psychedelic and heartbreakingly beautiful in places. I will never get tired of this recording. Maurice Deebank is an incredible underrated guitarist and Lawrence is perfect at what he does. A truly great recording that the average listener will never understand. Genius!