Arrah and the Ferns

Chris Donaghey

Going to Muncie for two years of high school and another semester of college has given me a great appreciation for the area. It's a little too large to be called a town and way too small for it to be called a city with any level of genuine sincerity. For most of the people who live in the area or just go to school there, fun is something that needs to be created. It's a Midwest thing. Arrah & the Ferns know this noble truth well. In creating their debut Evan is a Vegan, they have made great strides at making the Hoosier state well known musically for reasons other than Jacko and "Jack and Diane."

As their MySpace story goes, the band essentially formed on a random open mic night. Stories like this litter the landscape of the American music pscyhe and far too few come to fruition, but this is one that is going the distance. After introducing themselves on their debut with an intro track laced with noises taken straight from an epileptic daycare, "Preteens" bounces on by in under two minutes with a jovial sense of resistance. It is this unsettling yet enchanting vein of antipathy and frustration that appears to weave its way throughout the vasculature of Evan. Lovers duel with gently combative phrasings ("Skylark") and visceral threats ("Science Books"), but the songs themselves do not suffer from a lack of internal or external enjoyment. It says a lot if a song that involves cursory threats of arson and murder can also be a toe-tappingly good time. Actually, it says more than anyone can usually fathom. Wry humor is a virtue.

'Hey baby! Bundle up tight!
Tis the season to catch a cold and die.'

'The sun is high and bright, I'll grab that magnifying glass
And watch you die you die you die you die!'

'So you can die if you want you can do what you please
But remember the ones that have to bury the seeds'

The raging yang of this album is encapsulated by those couplets. To hear the words rolling and jumping out of Arrah's mouth is all the more quirky. She has a voice that recalls Jenny Lewis (of Rilo Kiley fame) and the abundant cute fluxes of Regina Spektor and Joanna Newsom. You get a sense that she's holding a little of her vocal range back at some points, but she's able to maneuver around and within the melodies like a prizefighter. When Carl Stovner jumps in with some of his own musings, the effect of the lyrics is not lost in the slightest. In fact, the dichotomy of the storied relationships to which we all become voyeurs is amplified if heard through both vessels. It is like hearing the Fiery Furnaces without all the pretension. More interplay between the two singers could even add more flavor to the pot in the future.

As far as the music itself, Arrah and her Ferns (Carl and Dave Segedy, who does a stand-up job on drums and recorder(!)) toss the classic elements of a band - guitar, drums, banjolin, and the ever-present wurlitzer - into some calamitously elegant arrangements. You can picture the trio sitting on the back porch of a country cabin jamming out whatever naturally-inspired chords come to mind. The truth is that they recorded the album in homes just like anyone else's and the intimacy and rawness comes out in spades. In no place does this aspect shine brighter than Evan's penultimate track "Southern Comfort." With Carl on lead vocals leading in to Arrah, the chords and notes are strummed and plucked with such care that the words begin to sound like they are cradling the melody until the ending string-laden swell.

This reviewer has rarely been so proud to be from Indiana. Muncie ties notwithstanding, Evan is a Vegan is an album that shows enormous promise. Given the nationwide attention being offered to Margot & the Nuclear So and So's, it would not be surprising for this band to catch on in due time, hopefully sooner rather than later. The only real downside to this album is its running time. At under 30 minutes, it passes by rapidly on its initial listen. You may wonder where it has gone once "Tokyo, Tokyo" finishes up, but it is such a remarkable listen that maybe its power comes in its tight packaging. Not a single phrase, groove, or note is allowed to go to waste. Arrah & the Ferns certainly have a bright future ahead of them. There will be plenty of time to hear more material with their next album. For now, this is one vegan dish that should agree with all of us.

Release date: August 8, 2006
Label: Standard Recording
Rating: 8.6 / 10

On the web: http://www.arrahandtheferns.com
[RMR] - Rock Muisc Review

In December “Indianapolis Monthly” named the Muncie folk-rock trio Arrah and the Ferns “The best local band you’ve never heard.” Thursday night, Arrah Fisher and her band mates Carl Stovner and Dave Segedy stepped onstage for the first time in 2007. Making their Melody Inn debut, they delivered an intense hour long performance full of attitude and charisma, proving “Indianapolis Monthly” knew what they were talking about.

The band exploded with pent up energy after not performing in a month, energy they would sustain though out the set. On “Emo Philips,” Fisher’s soft, compassionate voice cooed “You have to realize you can make it better” before morphing into a vicious punk rock snarl as she screamed “We don’t want you at our party.” Guitarist Carl Stovner leapt into the audience, spinning around like a manic top while Fisher flailed away onstage, kicking her feet in the air, and Segedy pounded away on his drums.

Fisher’s feisty attitude rubbed off on Stovner. On Skylark, the sweet concern that once carried his lyrics was tinged with gleeful mocking. When Fisher sang “I wanted more than you can give,” it was no longer contemplative but cruel. Even “Problems,” the softest song in their repertoire carried an edge to it. As Fisher announced “I’ve got problems,” the humble confession became a biting, matter-of-fact statement, as if Fisher was warning “deal with it.”

Between songs Fisher and Stovner bantered with the audience, their topics ranging from the Muncie based reality show “Armed and Famous,” Jimmy John’s, and being a college drop out. While the band is capable of winning over an audience with their music alone, their onstage chemistry and interaction truly captures a fan’s heart. And when they brought their performance to a close, the fans demanded an encore. Arrah and the Ferns obliged with a cover of Third Eye Blind’s “Jumper.” More comedy than sincere—“Are we seriously going to do this?” Stovner asked—Fisher stumbled and thrashed around in classic rock star fashion, often mumbling lyrics she didn’t know or skipping them all together. “We’re not even drunk,” Stovner said afterwards. Fisher replied with a sly grin.

With their energy finally spent, the band closed with the somber “90.” After yet another round of enthusiastic applause, their audience drifted out of the Melody Inn knowing Arrah and the Ferns were one of the best local bands they’d ever heard.

- Sagamore Press

...Now I hate the world, and I hate you too, she said" These are the opening lines to probably the most catchy song of the year. The song is called Emo Phillips and it is by a small indie group called Arrah and the Ferns. Dispite the title, however, this pop masterpiece has nothing to do with the absolutly hilarious comedian. The song itself is pretty hialarious, as well as terrificly written.

I say this a lot, but I honestly 'can't stop playing it'. It really depicts this drama-queen teenager that everyone knows. Instead of making fun of the girl's problems, Arrah and her mighty Ferns offer the troubled teen consolation. 'You care about the weather, when you know its going to change tommorow'.

Usually songs dealing with teenage love/depression tend to be cheesy and over the top. Emo Phillips manages to add just enough humor to the beautiful backing arrangements, which is refreshing to hear in a pop song. You'll never hear this song on the radio, but it sure is better than any teeny bopper pop I have heard. Look up Arrah and the Ferns, support them. After hearing this track I immediatly ordered their album, Evan is a Vegan, off of their website. They also have a few tracks on their myspace that are worth checking out.
- Music, etc.

Clicking through MySpace profiles of up-and-coming and potentially interesting bands, I discovered that Indiana’s Arrah and the Ferns would be playing a show in Lakewood from a venue I’d never heard of. A chance to explore the venue and witness Arrah and the Ferns first tour seemed a perfect waste of a Wednesday night.

As it turned out, “Studio One” was little more than a converted apartment above our local coffee shop and Record Exchange. ZOOMVOODOO, the six piece “rhythmic orchestra” turned quartet, opened with only three of their four musicians. Tem’s vocals were haunting and pleasant; Tiffany tapped her part (literally—with her feet), adding to the charm; together with Brian they put on a disarming thump-fest. Maybe this is a wild claim or maybe it’s just due to Tem’s recently shaven head, but the band reminded me of what the Smashing Pumpkins may have become had they spent a few years in Africa (or had a record produced by David Byrne). ZOOMVOODOO is yet another fine example of Akron’s local music scene and its continued ability to impress me.

Arrah and the Ferns followed. Their playful indie folk-pop, pleasant and simple on CD (maybe too simple), is simply pleasant—no, delightful—when experienced live. The exaggerated clap and shake with which Arrah started “Emo Phillips” heralded the entertaining show. The tone of the evening was set Arrah smiled to Tiffany and cued ZOOMVOODOO’s dancer to tap along. The three charming mid-westerners continued as if we were family and friends (like this was some local talent show, or maybe that first open-mic which helped form the band). They were earnest, young, and fun. They chit-chatted about their first experience in the big city as they fumbled through electrical arrangements (later blaming the venue’s PA). Eventually they just unplugged everything, checking back with us after each song: “are you sure you can hear us okay?”

We could hear them fine, and they sounded just great. Their simple pop turned acoustic brought out the emotion behind Arrah’s elegant lyrics, finding beauty in simplicity and mixing maturity with childhood. Carl’s dancing, his wonderful shifting feet (or maybe it was just the music), forced all of us to shake and tap along. For “Preteens,” Dave moved from his drum set to an appropriately childish arrangement of small percussion instruments. Their simple music was not only accessible, but engaging; and their personalities topped even that. At the end of the show, as the band stuck around for some idle chit-chat, I wished they’d stayed a few days—or that they were returning to Oberlin and not Ball State in Muncie, Indiana. But at the end of the night, I’d had too much fun and too much wine (thanks to a venue with a nice bar and poor PA) to follow through with the interview I’d scheduled with Arrah. But of course, the sweet, budding musicians agreed to keep in touch: expect an e-interview sometime in the next few weeks. - Electric Tomatoes