by Jim Kelly

Who: Christine Fellows
What: Tantalizingly original avant-folk-pop
Where: Winnipeg, MB
To Contact: Shauna de Cartier, Sixshooter Records, 98038 Queen St. E, Toronto, ON, M4M 1J0 (416) 465-2459, FAX (416) 532-0331, shauna@sixshooterrecords.com, www.christinefellows.com.

Since the release of her 2000 debut, 2 Little Birds, Christine Fellows has become a vibrant fixture on the Winnipeg music scene, and has begun to spread her wings across the country. The Last One Standing is her deliriously distinctive follow-up. Some call it avant-folk; others label it chamber-pop. I just call it wonderful. Fellows’ remarkably oblique approach to song construction and lyric writing creates music that is at once calming and oddly disturbing, but never less than completely captivating. Cello and viola wrap loving arms around Fellows’ refreshingly atypical piano style and charming vocals, with warm support from accordion, thumb piano, bowed glockenspiel and tastefully applied percussion. She says she’s not an avid music listener, but rather finds her inspiration in other art forms such as dance, and in the people immediately around her. “On this record, I did a lot of dedications for people,” says Fellows, “which is very unlike me, but it just seemed appropriate, and it was an interesting way to work.” With songs as alluring as these, maybe she should stick with that approach. “Regrets” is a courtly backward glance at paths taken and declined. “Roadkill” is a more sobering exercise in hindsight, surveying a flattened relationship in the rear view. And “Veda’s Waltz” is a gentle gift of hope with its delicious refrain, “It’s not too late for the battle-scarred/Here’s your parade and your tinfoil stars.” Decidedly distinctive and uniquely talented, Christine Fellows’ star is definitely on the rise.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 10th, 2002 at 1:21 pm and is filed under Showcase. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.