Fheels

»Whenever an identity is transported through a voice, my ears perk up,« says Brückner. »To me, how it sounds is of secondary importance, whether it’s melancholic like Jeff Buckley, quirky like Tom Waits or fragile like Einar Solberg from Leprous.« Fheels, his band, sounds like all of the above and so much more. Brückner’s recitative style of singing, which comes close to the spoken-word freestyle of the »The« bands, always keeps a certain minimum distance from the four-four platitudes of rock music. Where La Dispute would invoke post-hardcore, the Hamburg band echoes the gritty, grunge-rock guitars of Soundgarden and the melodic arcs of Eddie Vedder. The vocal work is carried along in grand fashion by keyboardist Nitzbon and bassist Boysen, while Brückner, trained in both guitar and singing, always opens up surprising new horizons with his unconventional vocal facets.