Robert
Rolfe Feddersen – American Loser (Independent)
With a series of acclaimed albums under his belt and
his “American Loser” video currently going viral on YouTube, Robert Rolfe
Feddersen must feel like his time has come. His latest collection, also entitled
“American Loser”, has been recorded by Steve Albini and features ten tracks of
honest-to-goodness Americana-folk-rock, where Feddersen rails against
injustice, the failure, or at least the deviation, of the American Dream, and
his own inbuilt ability to mess things up.
They used to call records like this “blue collar
rock”, and Springsteen was the recognized master of the genre, but Feddersen’s songs
seem just as authentic and genuine, and although he doesn’t quite have the
storytelling skills of the Boss, he makes up for it with great tunes, hard-hitting
imagery and fire in his guts.
Opening with the title track, it’s a tale of
disenchantment and disappointment, where Feddersen straddles the line between
resignation and anger, and the guitar / drum accompaniment is as uncompromising
as the subject matter. Albini’s method never gets in the way of the song, and
it’s Feddersen’s words that hold the album together - and his candor is admirable.
Tracks like “America” and “Waiting for Good Luck” feel dredged from his soul,
the latter sharing the same sense of abandonment that can be found throughout
the Townes van Zandt songbook.
Phil S.
Robert
Rolfe Feddersen – American Loser
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