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Jerry Fels: How to Make Enemies and Influence Strangers
[Nobody's Favorite]

Jerry Fels' How to Make Enemies and Influence Strangers charms the listener with a lo-fi indie style that evokes comparisons to The Microphones. A careful listening reveals that the similarities are mostly superficial, but the shared vocal pathos is striking. Fels has been noting proudly his improved vocal performance on this release, and his pride is entirely justified. This album pitches vocals as the centerpiece of a mostly acoustic work in the sort of homebrew style that offers very little to distract from or gloss over the songwriting. Though this makes for uncomfortable moments at times, he generally pulls it off, thanks to catchy, melodic accompaniment and periodic supporting harmonies placed to fill out the sound properly.

From the tense dissonance of wavering vocal overdubs on the first track, Fels builds melodies that pick up the pace and feel of the record. It is the light-hearted, hooky moments that save the record from falling too far into the shadow of Phil Elvrum, whose full-sentence lyrical styling is accomplished with a well-recognized skill to which Fels doesn't quite stand up. The lyrics themselves tend to get a little jumbled and don't always speak to the listener in entirely coherent ways, but packaged in a catchy tune, this only adds to the quirky flavor.

The record feels like a show where you had a great time and felt entirely engaged with the performer. Wherever the tracks fail to stand up to a mighty musical standard, they still convince you to enjoy the music and have a good time.

Nobody's Favorite Official Website

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