THE SUNDAY-TIMES UK

SUNDAY JANUARY 20 2002
CHARLES ATLAS
Felt Cover
Static Caravan van34

THE KEYBOARD drones and twangy guitars of this mysterious instrumental duo are every bit as alluring as the dynamic tension system developed by the American muscleman with whom they share their name. Felt Cover includes, logically, a cover of Ferdinand Magellan, by Felt, the most self-consciously oblique band Birmingham ever produced. Charles Atlas appear to have emerged from San Francisco, but they sound most similar to Roy Montgomery, a New Zealand-based guitarist whose work also hovers in the dangerous hinterland between compelling and confusing. Felt Cover is a scented bath of an album that will leave you feeling considerably cleaner, rather light-headed and not a little bewildered.

(Two of three stars)

Stewart Lee