Show me a devotee of local indie rock in the mid-2000s, and I’ll show you someone who probably had a folder on their computer called “Bootleg Features Songs.” For nearly 25 years, The Features’ 1999 sessions with Self honcho and Spongebath Records key figure Matt Mahaffey were a critical part of the band’s lore — an unreleased batch of songs that everyone still somehow knew backward and forward. It wasn’t until this year that the mythical Mahaffey Sessions found their way out of 192k MP3s and onto turntables thanks to YK Records. It’s a perfect time capsule, and living proof that The Features were one of the best bands to come out of the local scene.
