I’ve spent many a hazy night in student bars and indie clubs singing along to Feeder’s huge hit Buck Rogers. I’ve drunkenly wailed out ‘I think we’re gonna make it,’ and in my inebriated state thought, you know what? I think we are. It’s one of those songs that has continued to be played throughout the years. And whilst I’m sure the Feeder boys have got tired of playing it (you know what it’s like going to work and having to do the same task day in day out) the rest of the world never did.
Whilst many of Feeder’s contemporaries have been making a good career in the years that followed from nostalgia, playing those huge nineties and noughties indie anthems live, Feeder have continued to release album after album to add to their already impressive legacy. Whilst a lot of their most commercial hits came from that era, there’s a whole lot more to this band to discover if you’ve not been keeping up. New album ,Talulah, takes them into double figures. So what can we expect from album number ten? They’ve released an album of experimental jazz and drum & bass, right? Nah, of course not. They’ve stuck to what they do best and made an album featuring twelve catchy indie stompers to toss yourself around too in an indie club, just like I did all those years ago to Buck Rogers.
The album is testament to them that after all these years they are still producing the same quality of Indie music that they always have. We already had a preview of the album with leading single, Fear of Flying, a guitar lead pop/rock track that you’ll have stuck in your head after the first listen. Feeder clearly know the importance of kicking things off with a killer opening track and they have definitely put their best foot forward first with Youth, a nostalgic and euphoric road trip tale, where Grant sings about running off to California. It sounds like it’s been made to be the opening title track to an American teen drama. The pace continues throughout, kicking out potential hit after potential hit, sing along anthem after sing along anthem.
There are so many songs on Talulah that could be singles (that is if the traditional idea of a single still exists in these days of streaming). I found myself stopping the album at different points throughout the day as I listened to it enough times to write this review. Whichever was the last song I listened to last remained rattling round my head until I was able to pick it up again. The main offenders being Youth, Blue Sky Blue and Rodeo. The pace keeps up right until the final throws, slowing it down on fist clenching power ballad Windmill and acoustic closer Lonely Hollow Days, where we see a more emotive side to the boys.
Feeder have got their own sound. They know how to put a great guitar riff and a catchy tune. Whilst their songs sound great on record and on the radio (and of course in the student bars), with all the killer hooks on Talulah, it will no doubt sound great when the album tour follows in November. Take a look at the dates below.
NOVEMBER – HEADLINE DATES
1st – Portsmouth, Pyramids
2nd – Exeter, Great Hal
4th – Oxford, O2 Academy
5th – Norwich, UEA
7th – Leeds, Beckett University
8th – Cardiff, Great Hall
10th – Newcastle, O2 Academy
11th – Birmingham, O2 Institute
13th – Inverness, Ironworks
14th – Glasgow, Barrowland
16th – Manchester, Albert Hall
17th – Manchester, Albert Hall
19th – Lincoln, Engine Room
20th – Nottingham, Rock City
22nd – London, Roundhouse
23rd – London, Roundhouse
Tallulah is out now.
