Felice Brothers Announce New Album ‘Undress’ With Politically Charged Title Track

The Felice Brothers have announced details of Undress, the follow-up to 2016’s Life in the Dark, due May 3rd.

The upstate New York band offer a preview of the record with the album-opening title track, which is composed of dark, dizzying impressionistic images — “trigger happy deputees” and “conservatives in lobster bibs” — taken from a country plagued by corruption and greed.

“Chain of collusion/endless confusion,” Ian Felice sings in the horn-laden folk-rocker, which mentions everything from Bank of America to Kellyanne Conway. “When will we see the light of day?”

“Undress” is indicative of the increased focus on sociopolitical songwriting on the band’s forthcoming record. “Many of the songs…are motivated by a shift from private to public concerns,” lead singer Ian Felice says in a statement. “It isn’t hard to find worthwhile things to write about these days … The hard part is finding simple and direct ways to address them.”

Anchored by founding members Ian and James Felice, Undress marks the first studio album for the band’s newest member: bassist Jesske Hume, who joined the group after the departure of longtime fiddle player Greg Farley and bassist Christmas Clapton in 2018.

To accompany the release of the scrappy folk-rock band’s first album in three years, the Felice Brothers will embark on an extensive U.S. tour this spring.