Review: Arlan Feiles Insists That Failure Isn’t An Option

Arlan Feiles/Blame Me/ Not/Pop Records/Y&T Music
3.5 Out of Five Stars

Arlan Feiles is a seasoned troubadour. His career began at the helm of the highly acclaimed South Florida band Natural Causes and continued through an award-winning solo career that found him not only excelling, courtesy of a string of six superb solo albums, but also as a multi-instrumentalist and music producer. Discovered and mentored by the late great Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Record Producer Tom Dowd, Feiles has had his music featured in many films and television programs, including the trailer for the Academy award-winning movie The Dallas Buyers Club.

That’s a heady resume to be sure, but Feiles isn’t one to rest on his laurels. He can come across as a world-weary troubadour, constantly seeking an upward tack despite the obstacles that sometimes stand in his way. Don’t give me something for nothing, he insists on the song of the same name. So too, he asserts his stance on the ambling, upbeat “Head Up High.” I get knocked down but I just hold my head up high, he declares while emitting his unfailing determination.  

That struggle to find solace and satisfaction become a theme that’s echoed throughout the album, whether it’s through the candid confession found in “I’m In the Dark Without Us” and “Don’t Shoot Me Down” or drawing on the acceptance of sad circumstance he confronts on “It’s So Easy,” “Audience of One,” “Blame Me,” and “The Fence Around Your Heart.” His contemplative cover of Bob Dylan’s meditative ballad “Make You Feel My Love” finds an ideal fit, toeing the line between trouble and tranquility, though offering no answers other than those found when forced to trust one’s own instincts. 

For all his desperation and desire, the music manages to maintain an even keel. “Santa Cecilia” comes across with a calming caress. The surprisingly jaunty and Band-like “I Can’t Make It Alone” belies the despair hinted at in the title itself. The fact that Feiles manages to convey his sentiment with such forthright expression while averting the impression he’s sinking into an abyss from which there’s no escape adds a certain buoyancy when it’s least expected. 

Ultimately then, Blame Me is an album flush with uncommon honesty, one that puts the emphasis on sustenance rather than satisfaction. That’s a rare mindset, but at the same time, it speaks to the realities facing many folks in today’s era of uncertainty. Kudos to Feiles for showing both the courage and conviction to face up to his failures while still striving to persevere through passion and purpose.