Distortion Felix - I'm an Athlete

Awhile back, as some might remember, Steve Albini opened up to field questions on the 2+2 poker forums. After being picked up by a million different blogs the thread turned into a massive Q&A session that ended up being quite an interesting read for those that had the patience to sort through it. Within it there was a question that asked Mr. Albini whether there were any bands that he recorded with that he felt were overlooked and deserved to be heard. One of the bands mentioned in that list were Distortion Felix. Oddly enough that’s not the reason why I ended up tracking down an album of theirs. In actuality I was told by someone else to find/check out the album. I suppose in a roundabout way that’s where it stemmed from, but at the time it was unknown to me. Anyway, after tracking down their second album I’m an Athlete, which appeared on Alias Records in 1999, I gave it listen. By this point I was aware of the namedropping in the Albini thread, so my hopes were slightly raised.

Even with a seal of approval of sorts from Albini, I was bit of surprised at how much I actually enjoyed this album. I had no idea what I was going to hear because there isn’t shit about the band on the Internet sadly, which makes sense I imagine considering they were part of the answer to a “what bands are overlooked” type of question. Distortion Felix for the most part plays a very sludgy/hazy brand of noise-pop. I can’t think of any other way to really describe it. It definitely has a bit of an LA vibe to it, which apparently that’s where the band was based. At times reveling in the lo-fi pop sounds of the 60’s, it pairs this up with a hefty amount dirty bass and guitar distortion. The end result is something that manages to sound fairly unrestrained and raw but incredibly catchy at the same time. Some of the songs blur the line between up beat pop and almost flat out noise-rock more so than others however, like the song “Blast Off” which finds itself derived mostly from the more prominent era of noise-rock. I wish I could I say I knew more about the band, however Distortion Felix is just as new to me as they are to some of you. Apparently one of the guys is now a member of The Mars Volta. Anyway, definitely check out the tunes posted below.

Distortion Felix – I’m an Athlete [MP3]
Distortion Felix – Banned in Graceland [MP3]
Distortion Felix – Pieces [MP3]

For those interested in picking up I’m an Athlete, it can be had over at Amazon still either used or new. Definitely pick it up if the tunes above spark some interest, pretty solid disc.