Pilfers – “From Far”
Album Reviews | Apr 8th, 2015
Record Label: Self Released
Genre: Elevation-Core
Band Link: www.facebook.com/pilfers
Buy on Pilfers’ Store
It took 16 years(!) since Chawalaleng but the Pilfers have a brand new album out! While it might take fans a listen or two to get use to the new songs, I think people will be happy with what they hear!
Let’s get this out of the way now so people don’t ask…Vinny Nobile isn’t in the band anymore and doesn’t appear on the album. Obviously Vinny’s signature aggro trombone sound and vocals are missed but life moves on. One track that has the trombone on it is one you might have heard already, “Easy Man.” Chris Rhodes from Spring Heeled Jack and Bosstones played on that track. Kevin Batchelor steps in on trumpet and does an awesome job. He definitely provides a different Pilfers sound that takes a little getting used to. Perhaps the next Pilfers album will feature more horns or something different; you never know. But let’s enjoy this one first before we start talking about a new album.
Let’s circle back around to the beginning of the album. The first track is “Nothing’s Ever Good Enough” and could be the ska-ish song on the album. It’s certainly one of my favorites off From Far. The deep chorus sung by Coolie is catchy and fans will have fun singing along to that one at shows in the future. The next track, the title track “From Far” is another that people will dig. Coolie sings and gives a bit of history of the band. Lots of shout-outs to the Pilfers Crew and all the bands from near and far. If you’ve seen the Pilfers perform in the last few years, you might have heard the next song: “Done Nothing Wrong.” I think the song is one of the highlights of the album. The upstroke and the other guitar riffs from Nick stand out especially.
“Follow You Blind” sounds awesome and it’s one I heard a lot when I visited the band in the studio. The other song that I heard that day was “Let It Rain.” Well minus the trumpet playing from Kevin at the time. It’s interesting and cool to see how the final version of the song came out. After “Follow You Blind,” the track “Drowning In You” features guest vocals from Patricia Verdolino from Metro Style and Nick takes over singing duty on the track “Sound The Alarm.” both solid tunes that get better with each listen.
During this part of the album, some songs are hit or miss with me but that’s the case with most albums I listen to; I always end up liking the beginning parts of albums the most. “Lately” is a slower tune but I ended up liking that the most in the back half the album. Pilfers actually did an instrumental track with “History of Love.” Although it’s not played as an instrumental when played live. Coolie’s son Mark sang over it at the record release show in Brooklyn. It’s a bit dub-ish but I’m not a really a fan of dub. With that said, I really like Kevin’s trumpet motif that he plays throughout the song.
It takes more than one listen to appreciate the Pilfers’ new album. It’s a little bit different than their previous two albums and I’m perfectly fine with that. Obviously some of that aggressive t-bone playing is missing but they still have that heavy sound. I know when an album is good because when I finish an album, I want to start it up from the beginning again. That’s what happened with the Pilfers new album and looking forward to hearing more from Pilfers 2.0 in the future.
Bottom Line: The extremely long wait for a new album was worth it!
Notable Tracks: Nothing Ever Good Enough, From Far, Done Nothing Wrong, Easy Man, Follow Your Blind, Lately, Jack’s Ashes
Overall Rating:
