Federale - Heaven Forgive Me
Portland-based outfit Federale have announced they will release their new 'Reverb & Seduction' album via Jealous Butcher Records in summer. Ahead of this, these legendary songcrafters present the lead track 'Heaven Forgive Me', which features Alex Maas of The Black Angels on backing vocals.
Their sixth studio album, 'Reverb & Seduction' marks the band’s twentieth anniversary. The band’s most immersive and varied album to date, with do-it-all frontman Collin Hegna at the height of his powers, this is a tour-de-force road trip from psych rock to country duets, never straying too far from the spaghetti western roots that inspired the band many blood-moons ago.
Over the past two decades, Federale has carved out a unique niche within the indie music landscape, blending their signature spaghetti-Western instrumental sound with increasing doses of moody vocal arrangements in the spirit of Lee Hazlewood and late-period Leonard Cohen. Through it all, songwriter and lead singer Collin Hegna – who also spent the last 20 years as a dues-paying member of The Brian Jonestown Massacre – maintains a strictly retro vibe. Federale's records have always sounded period-correct for an alternate-universe 1971, where rock and roll never caught on.
"Each Federale release has sought to embrace influences ever farther afield from the band’s original concept as an ode to Spaghetti Western film music. But one aesthetic constant (as far as non-instrumental songs go) has been the dark, narrative driven folk ballad," says Collin Hegna.
"The goal with 'Heaven Forgive Me' was to bridge the gap between the yarn casting style of Lee Hazlewood and the bleak New Wave anthems of Depeche Mode. Contrastingly, the arrangement of the song leans heavily on the aesthetics of 70’s Italian horror soundtracks, such as Goblin and Fabio Frizzi."
Comprised of 10 tracks, 'Reverb & Seduction' was recorded at Revolver Studios in Portland and engineered by Collin Hegna, Matt Thomson and Andrew Joslyn, who boasts five 5 Grammy Award winning albums. Mixed by Jeff Stuart Saltzman (The Black Keys, The High Violets), Matt Thomson and Collin Hegna, this album was mastered by Adam Gonsalves at Telegraph Mastering.
These new musical homages are complemented by a new lineup of well-known Portland rock-scene vets, including talents from The Shivas, Roselit Bone, Dandy Warhols, Rogue Wave and Delines. Going forward, Federale expects to fully embrace the role of a working, touring band, starting with a West Coast tour timed to coincide with the new record's July release. A European tour will follow in late fall 2024.
As of April 24, 'Heaven Forgive Me' is available everywhere digitally, including Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal and Bandcamp. The full 'Reverb & Seduction' album, which can be pre-ordered now, will be released on July 12 via Jealous Butcher Records, available on CD and vinyl wherever fine records are sold.
