Federale press portrait, February 2024. Photo by Jason Quigley.
Portland outfit Federale has released their latest album Reverb & Seduction, out today via Jealous Butcher Records. Led by Collin Hegna, Federale celebrates 20 years with this record. A longtime member of The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Hegna has been steeped in feedback and fuzzed-out guitars for just as long.
Reverb & Seduction is a ten-track tour-de-force, blending psych rock with country duets, all while keeping close to the spaghetti western roots that ignited the band’s passion many moons ago. What began as a homage to the Italian ’60s cinematic scores has evolved far beyond those gritty origins. Today’s Federale draws from a diverse array of influences like Depeche Mode, Nick Cave, Lee Hazlewood, and The Brian Jonestown Massacre, delivering something both nostalgic and novel.
This musical homage features a lineup of well-known Portland rock-scene veterans, including talents from The Dandy Warhols, The Shivas, Roselit Bone, Rogue Wave, and Delines. Members of The Black Angels, Jenny Don’t & The Spurs, Mission Spotlight, and Courtney Barnett’s Band also lend their skills to this eclectic ensemble.
“This album to me represents the culmination of 20 years of sonic exploration,” says Hegna. “With each record I’ve allowed a few more genres and musical influences into the playground. And with this, our 6th full length, I wanted to see how well they all played together at once. I was curious what happened when you crossed 80s deathrock with 70s folk balladeer stylings. Or 60s acid jams with string laden country crooning. It turns out it works pretty well.”
A penchant for the darkly romantic weaves through these influences. The guide through these stories delivers the news in a deep baritone, reflecting the gravitas of the song’s arrangements. Distorted guitars, mellotrons, and ’70s-inspired string arrangements sit side by side with driving drum patterns and moaning pedal steel. This goat’s head alphabet soup of inspirations mingles to create a sum stranger than the whole of its parts. A siren calls us in the night towards certain destruction, but its song is so hauntingly beautiful we cannot resist.
Federale has carved out a distinctive niche in the indie music scene, blending their trademark spaghetti-Western instrumental sound with moody vocal arrangements reminiscent of Lee Hazlewood and late-period Leonard Cohen. Through it all, Hegna—as both songwriter and lead singer—maintains a strictly retro vibe.
The album kicks off with Advice From A Stranger, blending the fuzz and feedback of The Electric Prunes and The Veldt, with a dash of spaghetti western drama, complete with clanging spurs and an echoing voice. It’s a gritty opener that sets the stage with a blend of raw sound and cinematic flair.
The pleading Heaven Forgive Me draws on the sounds of Goblin, The Gun Club, and Songs of Faith and Devotion-era Depeche Mode. Its pathos is pure Americana, steeped in sorrow and sin, blending twang and tension into a tale of redemption and regret.
No Strangers is a sonic tribute to songwriter Lee Hazlewood, but its thrilling string section really bringing in the cinematic vibes, channeling Nick Cave, The Church, and Chris Isaak.
The band can be heard in the trailers for Banshees Of Inisherin and Mona Lisa & The Blood Moon as well as the Swiss action/comedy Mad Heidi.
Reverb & Seduction is out now. It will also be released on CD and limited edition vinyl, available online and from fine record dealers.
Federale’s Reverb & Seduction tour winds its way up and down the U.S. West Coast and beyond, starting in Portland on July 12 with their album release show. A European tour is expected in late fall 2024. Don’t miss Federale on the road this summer, stirring up trouble and tunes!
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