You and I both know that February’s The Beginning EP promised and delivered more than we ever thought possible and that the dazzling, groovy coloured video which accompanied the kick-ass, razor cut single ‘That’s The Way It’s Meant To Be’ fulfilled every one of our crazy, psychedelic dreams. On top of bands like Hot Hot Heat, Stellastarr*, Franz Ferdinand and The Libertines we didn’t feel we really deserve another fiery little star trail sailing over our burgeoning rock firmament. But you don’t always get what you deserve. And that’s not always a bad thing.
Matt Pelham and the boys may have disposed of the endearing psychedelic whimsy of tracks like ‘Bumble Bee’ and ‘Two By Two’ but they haven’t disposed of the infectious, exuberant psychotic nuttiness of it all with title track ‘Exhibit A’ providing incontrovertible evidence of a broad, belligerent arsenal of custom-built tricks. Calling up everyone from 70s glam freaks Sparks to The New York Dolls, ‘Exhibit A’ is a blistering opening move from which most bands would fail to recover, but not so The Features. No sooner has the thrashing swirl of guitars and kooky Hammond organ breaks come to an abrupt and premature end than the fuzzy insistence of ‘That’s The Way It’s Meant To Be’ kicks in. Breakneck pop performed at breakneck speed, clocking up no more four full minutes for both of them. The only slowing of the pace comes with track 8 of the album, ‘Idea Of Growing Old’ – a timely reminder that once the anger has passed and the amps have fused there’s another Flaming Lips ready to oil our more peculiar fancies in another five years time.
Angular, schizoid and buzzing with enough static to light a Christmas tree, ‘Exhibit A’ is as short and sharp a shock as you’d expect from plug and play rock at its most direct.