MADTRACKS

Confidence is a great thing to have, but only if it’s balanced by a little self-doubt. Occasional bouts of less-than-optimal self-esteem can give you the humility you need to empathize with others and keep you from becoming a snob -- if you don’t let them get the best of you.

Jentri Colello, the face and voice of Flatbear, knows this well. In fact, it’s the sentiment behind the group’s single “Rattled,” the first song on their new album, Flying Days.

“It’s about trying to find perspective in order to keep yourself in check before it’s too late, trying to avoid ending up shaken with guilt and regret for not living as truly and fairly as you can to the people you love,” she explains. “It’s also about making huge, life-changing decisions and being intimidated by being alone in that, knowing you’re the only one who can make yourself feel at peace with those choices and, more importantly, the motives behind them.”

As you might expect, the song isn’t a fast-paced electropop tune full of cheery melodies and beats fit for an aerobics class. It’s not completely morose either, though. In fact, it’s quite uplifting in that epiphany-at-a-coffee-shop sort of way.

The track starts off with a pure and simple guitar line full of ringing tones, then adds an edge when Colello’s voice comes in, low and slow with the slightest hint of rasp. It’s a voice that could easily take a turn toward trip-hop or Kathleen Edwards-style alt-country. For now, though, it hovers somewhere between Suzanne Vega and Poe, folk rock with some otherworldly accessories.

Colello says these sounds came together spontaneously at a rehearsal, when Colello was seeing how well she could strike a few different chords.

“The chord progression emerged, and then Phil [Feutz] was all of a sudden there, ready and chimed in with a drumbeat,” she says. “I came up with a melody soon after, and that turned out to be the only thing we did that night.”

The song will be just one part of a full night of music this Friday at the High Noon Saloon, when the Forward Music Festival shifts into high gear. Flatbear performs in a lineup that includes Ra Ra Riot, Margot and the Nuclear So and So’s, Princeton and Sleeping in the Aviary.

Colello says the band’s particularly excited about this gig since it represents an opportunity to celebrate the community that’s supported and encouraged them while rubbing elbows with other musicians they love.

“We can't wait to play with Margot again, and I've never seen Ra Ra Riot live so this is like Christmas for me,” she says.

An MP3 of “Rattled” is available in the related downloads section at right. More music by Flatbear is available on its MySpace page. The band will perform as part of the second annual Forward Music Festival at the High Noon Saloon on Friday, September 18.

MadTracks highlights and provides MP3s of songs performed by local musicians. All tracks here are provided with permission of the artist. If you are a musician based in the Madison metro area and are interested in sharing your work as a MadTrack, please send a message.