The Features have deflected enough false starts and dead-ends to kill most groups. Absorbed in full, it’s quite the litany of misfortune: at least two unreleased full-length albums to close out the ’90s; a pair of fruitless label dalliances; the departure of three band members. It’s oddly fitting, then, that the Features’ new LP is a self-titled affair. And apparently they’re also late-bloomers, given the measurable bump in song quality and musicianship that propels The Features (Serpents & Snakes/BMG). With its four members now well into their 30s, the band sounds like it’s just now coming into its own. Singer/guitarist Matthew Pelham, keyboardist Mark Bond, bassist Roger Dabbs and drummer Rollum Haas will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our new Features feature.
Bond: I grew up going to a Southern Baptist church in my early teens. I remember a time when really good records got smashed on youth-group stages, because they were “secular.” During that period of time, the only new bands I was exposed to were what was sold in Christian bookstores. I thought there were a few good bands that had their own identities. One of those bands was Starflyer 59. I became obsessed with this space-rock sound influenced by shoegaze. Over the years, their records have evolved as the main songwriter, Jason Martin, explored different arrangements and instrumentation. My favorite record of theirs would have to be Everybody Makes Mistakes. The first song on the record, “Play The C Chord,” has a laid-back, good-for-driving, watching-the-sunset kind of vibe that always strikes the right chord with me even still to this day. Starflyer is the band that I make friends over as we share our stories of growing up listening to Christian bands and trying to figure out why we shouldn’t also listen to the “secular” music that was out at the time. The truth is, it seems, that Starflyer is and was one of the few bands in its category that was doing something unique. So many others were simply taking what was popular in the main stream and putting a Christian spin on it. Personally, I want something that is all its own. Sure you can say they have specific influences, but I feel like Starflyer did and are still doing their own thing. That is why, to me, they are one of my favorite bands of all time.
