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| The Felix CulpaCommitment2004 Common Cloud 
  Review by: Brian See others by this writer ![[staff]](/images/icons/staffsticker.gif){kind=icon}
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Published on December 21st 2004
The Felix Culpa's first full-length Commitment is a strange, irrational, misplaced record. Their atmospheric, Christian-founded sound is akin to dreamy Tooth & Nail artists like Emery or Further Seems Forever, but the band steps far out of the genre's normal boundaries as they implement odd guitar riffs and extended landscapes, with tracks running an average of five minutes apiece. The album is both pleasant and unsettling at the same time, as the beautifully deep vocals of the lead singer put you in a mellow trance, only to violently shake you by some angular chord progression or bipolar expression. If there was some sort of midpoint between dreams and nightmares, this would be the soundtrack. The band's style is tougher to pin down than it seems; although they have a small sample of screaming here and there (the mid-album, eight-minute "Numbers," for example), all it really does is make the abovementioned comparisons easier to bring up.
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I enjoyed this album quite a bit. Good music, even better guys. I saw them at my first local show EVER [about two years ago, in some corner of DeKalb, with El Oso (love them), Best Days Behind, and Inspector Owl (love them as well)], I still go and see them quite a bit, and they're still a favorite. I love how versatile their music is, in terms of shows--one night, they can play a show with the indiest of the indie bands out there, and the next night they can open for the screamiest [is that a word? well, I suppose it is now], most hardcore band out there and fit in perfectly with both shows. "felix culpa - fortunate fall." the culpa by "overstepping their creative boundaries", whatever that means, has created a work that is invoking and infuses it with a smidgen of poetic influence. in this somewhat correct and standard society, music has taken no small leaps and has contented itself with boundaries. so, maybe indeed you don't "get" it. I can't tell you how impressed I am watching this band evolve - listening to the recordings they have done and hearing them play from time to time. A regional band of really young guys forge for themselves a genuine and sometimes genius musical niche - and most of the time they are compared to national industry driven efforts by far more credible sources than this clod - they have elevated themselves and their art to a level few ever attain to... the industry would do all of us a favor and smile down on this honest and powerful musical expression - invest some serious money into their future and give them to the world instead of the crap that they are currently shoveling in our direction - just my humble opinion - one more thing - I am so tired of self important - pseudo - intellectual music critics - aren’t you? crap, that read very badly for them ........sorry guys you are all intellegent and lovely ....... i'll never be able to save this. the felixculpa's music brings life to a dead and dying scene, and they are genuine and not in it for themsevles at all. they do it because they love others , and this is one of the best ways they can share their love without making anyone feel left out. real great guys and real big hearts and real big beautiful music. i probably wouldn't listen to committment if the world was comming to a horrible end soon. ( so i guess we know what won't be in my cd player presently) and as far as the band name goes , there was absolutely nothing fortunate about the fall of man....God was JESUS and JESUS was God long before Adam ever handed his dominion over to Satan. it was God's Love for us that pinned Him to a tree . no other reason. ive known all the guys in the culpa for a long while and it's very disapointing to see them settle on a name the contradicts Truth. we truly are destroyed for lack of knowledge.. This cd kicks ass. When i first heard Bad Actors (unmixed) it became my favorite song instantly. As I heard more songs by them I realized that I liked everyone they have. If you have any taste in good music go buy it now...its well worth the 10 bucks, --- I personally think that this album is amazing. I've known and loved these guys since way before the name change. I was surprised to see a bad review, but, I guess your opinion is yours to have, whatever, this album rocks! never heard of these chaps. read this review, then read the anti-review comments. and unlike most of the anti-review comments, they made sense. did some research and found out about a kick ass band. can't wait to get this record. My bad check the website if anything but I guess its cheaper at $6 and @ 7:30 I loved this album!!! The music really sounds like its straight from the heart. The lyrics are unfathomable. They are seriously far beyond talented. This is their "first" full length album. They definately will get great and bad reviews from time to time, everyone is entitled to their own opinions so don't wish any bad harm to people who didn't like this album. You must have an open horizon to enjoy and understand but remember the only people who can really understand this are the band members because people can have different perspectives of what this album means unless you get it straight from the source. They can't be categorized into a genre because they are their own unique genre. Their names are etched into this new genre. After a few years and more great albums from these guys people will look back at this album and be like wow they have progressed so much from where they were but yet they still kept true to their roots. Take these great bands into consideration AFI, My Chemical Romance, Slipknot , Avenged Sevenfold for some examples their first albums weren't really accepted by the peers of the people but their further so albums have molded them into the great bands that they are now. i feel this will hold true to The Felix Culpa. Remember their names because in the future they will be headlining tours, on front of mags, and the cream of the crop. Don't decide to give them a bogus review now and jump on the band wagon later. Sorry I had a lot to say, but lastly I would like to thank Tristan for stopping by and opening my horizons to the Felix Culpa. I like these guys. Don't defend your ART!!! What are you thinking! Don't explain. But, it is unfair to throw the christian label on a band just to demonize them. Jesus was a bleeding-heart liberal bordering on commie-pacifism. Just thought I'd remind you all, this being so close to christmess (which is actually the festival of saturn - "saturnalia"). hey guys, just because something is from the bible doesn't make it stupd or not stupid. In this case i'd say it doesn'. whoops, didnt give the right rating. =D This album kicks ass, undoubtably. Score is for pencils, especially free ones. fuck stupid band names. for some reason i'm not logged in, that comment below is me. a free pencil... count me in. this band is really good. you don't "get it". I never said I was writing the second review. Also, I gave this album about seven careful listens, and these were my thoughts after listening. I'm not going to spend months losing sleep over a CD I just don't apparently "get" so I can positively hail something I'm not sure is even deserving of. "for one thing, "numbers" clocks in at about 4:50" i would venture to say that the reviewer did not give this album a very careful listen. for one thing, "numbers" clocks in at about 4:50 and while he may have been speaking of "i'm still learning," that song clocks in at around ten minutes and is at the end of the album... personally, i find the term "misanthropic" a bit strong to really accurately describe the mood the culpa sets... cynical? maybe. dark? at times, definitely. mostly i find the album presents the listener with a lot of questions, some obvious and others more rhetorical. well, maybe you can use the $7.50 you made from selling the free promotional item and go see them when they play your town. Also, I meant to give it this score. I suppose I'm the cock mildew now. This album kicks so much ass it's not even funny. Same old bullshit. Heard it before...way better than this cock mildew. I help out at the old folks homes. I strip tease for all the old grandpas these. If I'm good they let me touch their old war pistols. Interesting review. Maybe you should give it another listen down the road...oh no wait..that might be tough because you already sold the cd on eBay...well, maybe you can use the $7.50 you made from selling the free promotional item and go see them when they play your town. Wow. For being such a fucking idiot, this guy sure uses a lot of big words. Opening the case, the band provides instructions on what to do with it - Wow, I never thought I would see a mediocre review of anything Felix Culpa has ever put out. They are one of those local bands that you never quit think of as local. I've loved them since I first heard them, and I think they have a long road ahead of them. The new cd is amazing, I'm so glad we FINALY got it. An Angle beat The Felix Culpa. woah.. our first bad review. i'm sure it won't be the last. brian, i appreciate your honesty. I've had this album in my possession since these guys released it with Engine Down sometime in September. This album blows my mind. It took me a few weeks of constant play in my car, but now it clicks with me like very few other albums have this year. |
