Felt

Felt was the project of Britain's enigmatic Lawrence, a singer/songwriter who transformed his long-standing obsession with the music of <a href="spotify:artist:4rxXqaQUe5udkRsGRDDDIY">Tom Verlaine</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:0S7Zur2g8YhqlzqtlYStli">Television</a> into an impressive catalog of minimalist pop gems and, ultimately, cult stardom. The first Felt single, "Index," was produced by Lawrence alone in his bedroom on a portable cassette player. Released in 1979, its primitive, impressionistic sound stood in stark contrast to the sleek solemnity of the new wave (as did his much-discussed "new puritan" stance, a rejection of alcohol, smoking, and drugs), and as a result the record became the subject of lavish critical praise, leading to a contract with the <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Cherry+Red%22">Cherry Red</a> label.

Lawrence then set about assembling a band, although Felt was clearly his project and his alone; in fact, his control was so absolute that according to legend, original drummer Tony Race was fired primarily because he had curly hair. After a series of roster shuffles, a steady group including guitarist <a href="spotify:artist:0mIWQPo3d7OjSaOl4UxULR">Maurice Deebank</a> and drummer Gary Ainge began to take shape in time to record 1981's Crumbling the Antiseptic Beauty EP. The addition of the classically trained <a href="spotify:artist:0mIWQPo3d7OjSaOl4UxULR">Deebank</a> allowed Lawrence to realize a level of guitar interplay similar to the twin attack of <a href="spotify:artist:0S7Zur2g8YhqlzqtlYStli">Television</a>'s <a href="spotify:artist:4rxXqaQUe5udkRsGRDDDIY">Verlaine</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:7Kry4vMY7xRIGYIhIxSvhh">Richard Lloyd</a>. Lawrence's understated vocals brought comparison to another downtown New York icon, however -- <a href="spotify:artist:42TFhl7WlMRXiNqzSrnzPL">Lou Reed</a>.

After one more EP, 1984's The Splendour of Fear, Felt issued their long-awaited full-length LP The Strange Idols Pattern and Other Short Stories in 1984. The group's ranks swelled to include keyboardist <a href="spotify:artist:0Z9FZyacG66C6Zjj53SzMS">Martin Duffy</a> prior to recording 1985's Ignite the Seven Cannons with producer <a href="spotify:artist:3ZqRIzadY4WYQEg4Hj2vGC">Robin Guthrie</a>, whose fellow <a href="spotify:artist:5Wabl1lPdNOeIn0SQ5A1mp">Cocteau Twin</a> <a href="spotify:artist:791Z3924aa619hZ3xsOJEx">Liz Fraser</a> guested on the single "Primitive Painters," a major British indie chart hit. Despite their success, internal friction plagued the group -- Lawrence and Ainge were once forced to mount an infamously disastrous two-man improvisational festival performance after <a href="spotify:artist:0mIWQPo3d7OjSaOl4UxULR">Deebank</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:0Z9FZyacG66C6Zjj53SzMS">Duffy</a> abruptly walked out -- and finally <a href="spotify:artist:0mIWQPo3d7OjSaOl4UxULR">Deebank</a> left for good prior to the release of 1986's Ballad of the Band EP, Felt's first effort for the <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Creation%22">Creation</a> label.

In the wake of the guitarist's exit, the group's next album, 1986's Let the Snakes Crinkle Their Heads, became a brief instrumental outing, but its follow-up, Forever Breathes the Lonely Word, was acclaimed as Felt's masterpiece. <a href="spotify:artist:77Y0KBizhqrlcI3NN3iGcs">Mayo Thompson</a> produced 1987's Poem of the River EP, while <a href="spotify:artist:3ZqRIzadY4WYQEg4Hj2vGC">Guthrie</a> returned to man the spartan mini-album The Final Resting of the Ark. Two dramatically different LPs, The Pictorial Jackson Review and Train Above the City -- the latter of which did not even include Lawrence -- followed in 1988, and upon issuing 1989's Me and a Monkey on the Moon, Felt announced their break-up. Lawrence soon resurfaced in the 1970s glam rock project <a href="spotify:artist:7aK3HPZsL7YboqDz7EB2uy">Denim</a>, then moved to novelty pop with <a href="spotify:artist:7pdwstc9czwxPmoHPzS0uZ">Go Kart Mozart</a>. Keyboard player <a href="spotify:artist:0Z9FZyacG66C6Zjj53SzMS">Martin Duffy</a> died on December 18, 2022 after suffering brain injuries during a fall at his home; he was 55 years old. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi