FEDERALE – “HEAVEN FORGIVE ME”
A SPILL EXCLUSIVE VIDEO PREMIERE
From a true hotbed of superb musical output as of late – Portland – comes one very cool band, known as Federale. It’s actually more like a collective (not a small one either), led by Collin Hegna at, who is perhaps best known as one of the longest-running members of The Brian Jonestown Massacre. At the same time, he’s been active with his own group – and has been with both BJM and Federale for twenty years now.
You could call this an anniversary album, but their newest offering, Reverb & Seduction is so much more. Slated for release this summer via Jealous Butcher Records, this is the band’s sixth studio album. Today, we have the pleasure of presenting the lead track “Heaven Forgive Me”, which also features Alex Maas of The Black Angels on backing vocals.
Their most immersive and varied album to date, Collin Hegna and his merry band of music-makers take us on a fantastic journey with every song, recalling the audio-visual journeys conditioned through Hollywood spaghetti western blockbusters and the romanticism of 1960s French noir films. With this latest Federale output, Hegna not only sits perfectly here, but masterfully shapes these soundscapes, and on ‘Heaven Forgive Me’, Hegna channels the post-punk vibes of such bands as The Church, Pink Turns Blue and The Mission to our delight.
As the first track to be introduced from the new album, this leaves us plenty to look forward to and, from the quick preview we’ve had of the album, we predict that this will be the strongest album of Federale’s career to date.
Federale has carved out a unique niche within the indie music landscape, blending their signature spaghetti-Western instrumental sound with increasing doses of moody vocal arrangements in the spirit of Lee Hazlewood and late-period Leonard Cohen.
Hegna explains, “Each Federale release has sought to embrace influences ever farther afield from the band’s original concept as an ode to Spaghetti Western film music. But one aesthetic constant (as far as non-instrumental songs go) has been the dark, narrative driven folk ballad. The goal with “Heaven Forgive Me” was to bridge the gap between the yarn casting style of Lee Hazlewood and the bleak New Wave anthems of Depeche Mode. Contrastingly, the arrangement of the song leans heavily on the aesthetics of 70’s Italian horror soundtracks, such as Goblin and Fabio Frizzi.”
Comprised of 10 tracks, Reverb & Seduction was recorded at Revolver Studios in Portland and engineered by Collin Hegna, Matt Thomson and Andrew Joslyn, who boasts five 5 Grammy Award winning albums. Mixed by Jeff Stuart Saltzman (The Black Keys, The High Violets), Matt Thomson and Collin Hegna, this album was mastered by Adam Gonsalves at Telegraph Mastering.
These new musical homages are complemented by a new lineup of well-known Portland rock-scene vets, including talents from The Shivas, Roselit Bone, Dandy Warhols, Rogue Wave and Delines. Going forward, Federale expects to fully embrace the role of a working, touring band, starting with a West Coast tour timed to coincide with the new record’s July release. A European tour will follow in late fall 2024.
“Heaven Forgive Me” will be available everywhere digitally, including Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal and Bandcamp. The full Reverb & Seduction album will be released on July 12 via Jealous Butcher Records and wherever fine records are sold.
SINGLE CREDITS
Written, arranged and produced by Collin Hegna
Mixed by Matt Thomson & Collin Hegna
Mastered by Adam Gonsalves at Telegraph Mastering
Recording Engineering – Collin Hegna, Matt Thomson, Andrew Joslyn
Recorded at Revolver Studios in Portland, OR
Pat Spurgeon – drums
Jared Molyneux – guitar
Alex Maas – additional vocals
Collin Hegna – all other Instruments, percussion & vocals
Released by Jealous Butcher Records
Management: Andy Ross @ Exit Strategy Productions
Publicity: Shauna McLarnon @ Shameless Promotion PR
While you are here, also enjoy a compilation of the band’s most popular tracks and the official video for “Trouble”, which also makes it crystal clear just how cool it would be to see the band perform live:
Federale
[Single]
(Jealous Butcher Records)
Release Date: April 24, 2024
Artist Links
Background Photo Credit: Jason Quigley
