The Features in DC Tonight!

Nightlife has been a fan of The Features since we discovered them in Nashville in 2004. They've had their share of ups and downs over the years, but the band has steadily increased name recognition and expanded their fan base. Tonight, they're playing in D.C. at the Rock N Roll Hotel on H Street. Nightlife's going. You should, too.

Here's a snippet from the Entertainment section of today's Washington Examiner:

"It is nice that they're interested enough in what we're doing to take some sort of part in it, considering their status," said Features singer-guitarist Matt Pelham. "We're grateful for it, but at the same time, we're definitely our own band and don't really care to get wrapped up or too involved in it." 

The Features, which includes Roger Dabbs, Mark Bond and Rollum Haas, perform at the Rock N Roll Hotel on Wednesday. The group has a new album coming out in July titled "Wilderness," a mix of songs that bring to mind anyone from Interpol to the Strokes to, yes, Kings of Leon. 

"I think overall, I don't think we were shooting for anything specific," Pelham said of "Wilderness," the band's follow-up to 2009's "Some Kind of Salvation." "It is more just a collection of songs we've been working on. It's pretty eclectic overall. It's all over the place, really." 

The Features formed in the mid-'90s, but did not release their first full-length album until "Exhibit A" in 2004. Pelham said the band's sound is difficult to categorize. 

"I feel like we've always fallen into this gray area as a band," he said. "We don't fall into a category that kind-of-cool bands end up being in. But we're a little too weird for the mainstream. We sort of walk this line. We're in the middle somewhere." 

Pelham also explained that the Features' songwriting is more straightforward, less abstract and atmospheric than that of their hipster brethren.

Tickets are $10, and the doors open at 8pm. Cross the Potomac Ocean and join us. Check The Features out on Facebook and Twitter.