Without Feathers (album)

Without Feathers
Studio album by
The Stills
ReleasedMay 9, 2006
Recorded2005–2006
GenreIndie rock
Length43:36 (US)
46:25 (UK)
LabelVice
ProducerGus Van Go
The Stills chronology
Logic Will Break Your Heart
(2003) 		Without Feathers
(2006) 		Oceans Will Rise
(2008)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic65/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
NME8/10[3]
Pitchfork6.7/10[4]
Prefix Magazine[5]
Rocklouder[6]
Rolling Stone[7]

Without Feathers is the second album by Montreal indie rock band the Stills. It was released May 9, 2006 by Vice Records. The album was produced by Gus Van Go.

Emily Haines from fellow indie band Metric appeared on "Baby Blues," while Jason Collett of Broken Social Scene and Sam Roberts were featured on the track "Oh Shoplifter".[8]

The album debuted at No. 6 on the Top Heatseekers chart, but failed to hit the Billboard 200. In Canada, the album did not fare well on the charts. It premiered at No. 51 before moving out of the Top 100 the following week. The album was later released in the UK in 2007 by Drowned in Sound Recordings, including two new tracks.

Without Feathers featured a major personnel change; with the departure of original lead guitarist Greg Paquet, drummer Dave Hamelin moved to guitar and sang lead vocals on the majority of the album's tracks. It was also the first Stills album to feature keyboardist Liam O'Neil as a full-time member, and was the debut for drummer Julien Blais.

The album also marked a big change in sound, from the 1980s-influenced post-punk revivalism of their debut to a happier, more rootsy Americana-oriented approach, which Pitchfork termed "cheerful and heartfelt".[9][10]

  1. ^ "Without Feathers by The Stills". Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  2. ^ Allmusic review
  3. ^ NME.COM. "The Stills – NME.COM". Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  4. ^ "The Stills: Without Feathers Album Review – Pitchfork". Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  5. ^ "Album Review: The Stills – Without Feathers". Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  6. ^ "404 // Page Not Found – Rocklouder". Retrieved 5 October 2016. {{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help)
  7. ^ Rolling Stone review
  8. ^ "The Stills Soar 'Without Feathers'". Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  9. ^ "The Stills: Without Feathers Album Review - Pitchfork". Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  10. ^ "The Stills: Oceans Will Rise Album Review - Pitchfork". Retrieved 5 October 2016.