Various Artists - Ignite The Seven Cannons (THE STRANGE IDOLS PATTERN AND OTHER SHORT STORIES) (German, CD)

This collection contains the third and fourth Felt albums, THE STRANGE IDOLS PATTERN AND OTHER SHORT STORIES and IGNITE THE SEVEN CANNONS. Whereas their first two albums featured more meandering tracks, these albums feature songs that are more terse, though still with very elaborate arrangements. Standouts from STRANGE IDOLS include "Sunlight Bathed the Golden Glow", a cheerfully bitter character study featuring gorgeously jangling guitars, the oddly catchy "Dismantled King is Off the Throne", in which Lawrence's droll delivery is nicely offset by up tempo drumming, and "Whirlpool Vision of Shame", which features Maurice Deebank's complex guitar lines darting around the vocals. Produced by the Cocteau Twins' Robin Guthrie, IGNITE includes Felt's most well-known track, "Primitive Painters", a glittering masterpiece featuring astonishing backing vocals from the Cocteau Twins' Elizabeth Fraser along with some of Lawrence's more impassioned vocals, Gary Ainge's expressive drumming. Other standouts include the beautiful instrumental "Serpent Shade", highlighting Martin Duffy's keyboards, and "Southern State Tapestry", which returns the focus to the interplay between Deebank and Lawrence's guitars. Felt collectors should note that the reissued version of this collection, though it sequences the albums chronologically (unlike the original CD), it inexplicably omits the "Crucifix Heaven", a spectacular Spanish-guitar influenced instrumental.