Feverbones’ Superhuman Surrealism

Christopher Cox, Abram Shook, and Matthew Shepherd – three bodies in constant orbit of Austin’s indie rock/folk-pop solar system – have once again aligned for a Feverbones album.

Wicker men: (l-r) Christopher Cox, Abram Shook, and Matthew Shepherd are Feverbones. (Photo by Christina Fallara)

Following up 2014’s eponymous five-song debut, the trio now advances April’s Dream Talk full-length with “Sight Inside.” That track stars Cox, reporting surrealistic visions from the edges of the natural world before initiating squirrelly guitar riff that occupies every moment of the measure and then some. Shepherd and Shook’s propulsive rhythms soon unfold into a superhuman, Afro-techno-psych-rock breakdown before the latter leads back in the titular vocal refrain “Sight Inside! Sight Inside! Sight Inside!”

Dream Talk, being issued by Austin Town Hall, resulted from three years of creation between the members’ copious projects, which include Shook’s solo career (plus time with Shearwater) and the oft-paired Shepherd/Cox rhythm section backing Dana Falconberry and Adam Torres. Conceptually and stylistically succinct, the material benefited from all three bandmembers’ working together.

“Having the Feverbones outlet has given us a platform to experiment and develop our own compositional style that we wouldn’t encounter as much with those other projects,” offers Cox, a bassist in most bands. “I remember when we first started getting together, we set this intention to keep our music uplifting and always on its toes. Probably safe to say our songs have grown a little weirder since then and sometimes we’ll tease arrangements to the point that they’re less approachable, but the essence of that intention’s always been there.”

Feverbones appears Sunday, March 11, at Hotel Vegas.