Distortion Felix: I'm An Athlete

Alias Records

Los Angeles-based Distortion Felix—hey wait!—before you skip to the next review, bear in mind we're talking about East Los Angeles here, a part of town with absolutely no ties to Westside oxygen bars, the romantic-comedy industry, or Sugar Ray. Okay? Anyway, pundits describing East L.A.-based Distortion Felix's druggy, guitar and bass textures often drop the Jesus & Mary Chain comparison, but the sludge that flows from singer Manual Nieto's tormented amp is more a paint spill of primary colors than an expressionistic gloomfest a la Psychocandy.

Noisy? Hell yes. And DF coconspirators Phil Guerrero (bass) and John Alderete (drums) throw a racket that's as heavy as anyone in the business, with big minimalist beats and subwoofer-bustin' bass. But Nieto's vocals—at once cooly detached and gently inviting—provide the listener a way through the sonic wall. The poppy vocal melodies he projects mix bubblegum and fire to perfection on tunes like "Instant Phaser" and "Pieces."

With such a firm handle on noise-pop, Distortion Felix can carry either element to the extreme, as the song demands. And they do this with the acumen of old pros on "Green Armymen," as sweet a psychedelic pop-rocker as you'll find this side of Rubber Soul. Such a tune serves to almost cleanse the mental palette after the damaging effects of a monster like “Red Lips,” which thunders like some rampaging electric therapod, all gthe while threatening to collapse under the weight of its own fried tubes. You'll be crushed, to be sure, but it's a mighty sweet beast, this Distortion Felix.

—John Pecorelli

Alternative Press magazine