Feral Children - Second To The Last Frontier

On my last blog, I posted Feral Children's SXSW EP, a four song sampler showcasing some of the Seattle quintet's strongest tracks to date. If you were a fan of that EP, you'll be happy to know that all four of those songs can be found on Second To The Last Frontier, Feral Children's reissued full length, due out on July 8th. Although it may be a reissue, this album is Feral Children's grand introduction to fans outside the Seattle area, and it's safe to say they come out swinging. Their raw and unruly, Yeasayer meets Modest Mouse sound, seeps from each of the twelve tracks on Frontier. The album opens with singers Jim Cotton and Jeff Keenan trading vocal yelps on "Spy/Glass House," and never once settles down, or allows the listener to predict what they're going to hear next. "Billionaires vs Millionaires" is the best song that Modest Mouse never wrote, while "Jaundice Giraffe" is creepy in the best way possible, with its haunting vocal harmonies, echoed guitar riffs, and a refrain of "They love your skin / They love your yellow skin, they do."

A handful of tracks later and Frontier delivers another one two punch with "Cannibal Prison" and "Lost In The Woods," the former focusing on Cotton's commanding vocals, with piano and guitar scales that beautifully crash into one another, and the latter a seven-minute plus epic that is Feral Children at their most restrained. Just like on their EP, "Zyghost" closes the album wonderfully, summing up the entire album with its galloping chords, tribal-sounding drums, and driven bass line. Not very often does an album come along where recommending every track feels appropriate, but in this case, it's hard to refrain from listing every song in the "Recommended" section below. Take that as your cue--download this album. Tell everyone you know about this band. We need more music like this in the world.

DOWNLOAD: Feral Children - Second To The Last Frontier [Sarathan]
Recommended Tracks: "Spy/Glass House," "Billionaires vs Millionaires," "Ex-Blindman," "Cannibal Prison," "Zyghost."