NPR’s Second Stage
“Hailing from Brooklyn, NY The XYZ Affair makes epic power pop with theatrical vocals and instrumentation. It’s a sunny sound with rich, four-part harmonies and driving guitars. Their latest album, A Few More Published Studies is a consistently upbeat, multi-layered and melodic collection of progressive power pop.
On “Little Fool,” vocalist Alex Feder sings with a quirky falsetto backed by soaring guitars. The track romps playfully and unexpectedly with changes in tempo, synth effects and a thumping bass line.
The song was inspired by Phil Spector girl-groups from the ’60s. “I just got a kick out of some of the simple and idealistic subject matter in some of those songs (“Soldier Baby of Mine,” “My Boyfriend’s Back,” etc) and wanted to write a song just like it,” says Feder.
Three of the four members of The XYZ Affair went to music school and bring a different dimension to the band’s sound. “Our bass player, Chris listens to mostly soul and groove-based music, our drummer Sam listens to mostly jazz, our keyboardist Russ listens to a lot of indie stuff, and I listen to mostly pop music,” says Feder. “When you throw it all in you get the kitchen-sink arrangements that you hear on the record”
The XYZ Affair just finished its first nation wide tour and will settle in writing new material for a second album that Feder hopes will be a big step forward from A Few More Published Studies. They’ll also embark on another tour of the east coast in May with fellow neo-theatre rockers Jukebox The Ghost.”
