Portland’s iconic outfit Federale presents their latest single, ‘The Worst Thing I Ever Did Was Ever Loving You’ feat. Jenny Don’t is a song cast in the mould of the storied duets of Lee Hazlewood & Nancy Sinatra.
This is the latest greatest offering from Federale’s sixth studio album ‘Reverb & Seduction’, newly released via Jealous Butcher Records. This musical duet is truly unique and compelling, producing a sound that is a mesmerizing blend of catchy, sultry and enigmatic – with contrasting voices, songwriting genius and the allure of an era-defining sound of bygone times.
Set to a Beatles-inspired backbeat and adorned with period-correct strings and pedal steel, ‘The Worst Thing’ is an homage to the sounds of 1968. A time when psychedelia, country, rock, soul and crooners all started blending together to create a melange of genres that could only exist in that magical point in time. Except it exists now too thanks to Federale & Ameripolitan Music Awards-winning chanteuse Jenny Don’t (of Jenny Don’t and The Spurs).
Often in the Hazlewood-penned songs of the late 60s, Lee would write about a bedraggled yet loveable rogue that somewhat resembles himself but notably this character is always down on his luck. And the object of his affections simultaneously mocks him but can’t quite give him up.
In Federale’s “The Worst Thing..” we find Jenny Don’t taking up the mantle of the femme fatale that’s just had enough of her loser worser half. Meanwhile, Federale’s Collin Hegna goes down a laundry list of all the bad things he’s done (and there’s plenty), but somehow the worst thing he ever did was falling in love. Not even his worst behaviour (involving booze, drugs, gambling, and winding up with a bloody nose from something or other) can rival his moral ineptitude in causing a good woman to fall for a bad man. But Jenny has had enough of his bragging and excuses. She knows the score and isn’t afraid to let this loser know who’s won and who’s lost. And it ain’t her.
Led by Collin Hegna, Federale marks 20 years with this release and has been a member of The Brian Jonestown Massacre for equally as long. For over a dozen years, Jenny Don’t and the Spurs is known for their high-energy Country Western style and captivating stage presence, having garnered a global following with their infectious enthusiasm. This is not Hegna and Jenny’s first tango together – in fact, Hegna recorded and mixed Jenny’s new record ‘Broken Hearted Blue’ (out now on Fluff & Gravy Records) at Revolver Studios in Portland.
Filmed entirely on 16mm Kodak 200t film, the video for ‘The Worst Thing’ was inspired by the amazing one-shot music videos of the late 60s that were seen on shows such as the Ed Sullivan Show and The Tonight Show. Often shot live with little to no editing, they often featured minimal sets and creative theatrical lighting. With the performers often lip-syncing to their pre-recorded material, it was up to the camera and the performer to bring the performance to life.
What you see here is three takes straight through so that the singer’s positions could be shifted for the various points of view being portrayed in the lyrics of the song. The only editing that occurred is in cutting between these takes to create that effect. Cinematographer Joe Bowden chose the Eclair NPR 16mm camera for this task. Created in 1963 in France, the Eflair was revolutionary for its portability and noiseless design – a favorite of documentary and independent filmmakers of the 1960s and 70s. Shot in Portland, OR at Desert Island Studios, this film is an authentic representation of how music videos were created in the era the song is set in.
Watch ‘The Worst Thing I Ever Did Was Ever Loving You’ feat. Jenny Don’t – BELOW:
‘Reverb & Seduction’ is a 10-track 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. What began as an homage to those cinematic soundscapes of the Italian 60s has evolved well past those not-so-humble beginnings. The throughline in all these influences is a penchant for the darkly romantic, our narrator guiding us through these stories delivers the news in deep baritone reflecting the gravitas of the song’s arrangements.
Recorded at Revolver Studios in Portland, this album was engineered by Collin Hegna, Matt Thomson and Andrew Joslyn, who boasts five 5 Grammy Award winning albums. Mixed by Hegna with Jeff Stuart Saltzman (The Black Keys, The High Violets) and Matt Thomson, it was mastered by Adam Gonsalves at Telegraph Mastering. The album also involves numerous Portland rock-scene vets, including talents from The Dandy Warhols, The Shivas, Roselit Bone, Rogue Wave and Delines. Members of The Black Angels, Mission Spotlight and Courtney Barnett’s Band, plus Grammy-nominated producer Hunter Lea (Nancy Sinatra / Lee Hazlewood reissues) and Andrew Joslyn (Nancy Wilson, Kei$ha, Macklemore, Mark Lanegan),
‘Reverb & Seduction’ is out now everywhere digitally, including Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal and Bandcamp. Also released on CD and limited edition vinyl, the album is vailable from fine record dealers and via Bandcamp.
TOUR DATES
AUG 24 San Francisco, CA – Kilowatt
OCT 4 Reno, NV – Offbeat Fest
OCT 31 Austin, TX – Levitation Festival
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