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The Feeling - Join With Us
Britain’s top pop band?
I think so, you only have to listen to the radio or put on one of the less niche music TV channels to hear this band. Whether you love them or hate them, you will hear them day in and day out. For me it’s hard to be too negative as what they do they do so well.
They’ve been able to take the best of the pop from the 70s/80s and bring it up to date with good arrangements and some pretty good guitar riffs. The first album Twelve Stops And Home seems to have lead the way for others to follow, thinking of The Hoosiers, Kate Nash, Lily Allen or Mika.
A second album is always going to be a difficult process do you go all out for something different or stick to a winning formula and hope its not going to bore. The Feeling seem to have gone with the former, the album was recorded over three months at Bradley House in Somerset just continues where Twelve Stops ended. Each of the tracks could be a single release, bright and breezy enough for the radio and the possibility of a dance around your handbag at the next family wedding.
The first track is also the first to be released as a single, I Thought It Was Over is a love song about the fall of the Berlin Wall of all things. Extremely catchy, good chorus line makes it easy to see why this was chosen as the first single, for me it’s the definitely the strongest on the album. Without You was written while the band were in Virginia USA at the time of the Virginia Tech shootings, really strong lyrics and a good tune. For me even taking into account the subject matter this is a track strong enough to be a single release.
Title track Join With Us, opens with a telephone bell, over the top jauntiness, but so typical of The Feeling, shame more use of the harmonising vocals wasn’t made, as Dan Gillespie-Sells vocals do start to grate a little on this one but its such a happy little number it’s hard to be too critical.
Spare Me is a nice Ballard, quite a simple track compared to the over the top orchestration of the other tracks, I liked this a lot, would like to see this as a single release just to see if the public can take this band when not being OTT. Next track is Turn It Up, almost cheesy pop, very very typical The Feeling, has the potential as another single.
The intro to I Did It For Everyone is electro pop in style, a little of the Howard Jones going on here, but for me one of the weaker tracks, by comparison to the others it was bland, little to make it stand out. “Sweet harmony spread like the flu” I swear this is one of the lines, god knows what was going through there minds when this was written. In addition, this track ends with a babies voice, which is not only odd, its downright scary (but then again I’m scared of balloons).
I wont go away could easily be a Euro entry really heavy on the pop, could have been Bucks Fizz, Bay City Rollers or even Kenny Loggins (think Footloose) I liked the saxophone, however it did seem ill placed on the track, it felt like they had a sax and were going use it even if it didn’t fit in. Even the ending was muddled leaving me confused by the track. The next track is Loneliness, this one sounds like the token gesture to rock and roll, but with Beach Boys style vocals and harmonies, it shouldn’t work but it does, strange but somehow charming.
- The Feeling
- Join With Us (2008)
- Category: Album
- Label: Universal
- Reviewed by: Smartie
- Published on: 24 Feb 2008
- Comments: 0
- Beat Surrender Rating:
Weblinks
Add to favouritesThe next track is quite slow like they were trying too hard to make the words fit the music, ends up being bland but with nice violins, unfortunately Conner just doesn’t work for me. This Time, is slower, more reflective, and in part a little reminiscent of The Beatles, not the usual jaunty pop, however that said I quite liked this change in pace. Nice orchestration, which did go a little too far over the top in, parts but overall a good effort.
Not sure just how this will be recreated on a small stage but since The Feeling seem to be on the up perhaps the days of playing the small Carling or Uni venues is long gone and they will be able to fit all the equipment and additional instruments on the arena stages. The last time I saw them was at the Carling in Liverpool and to be honest there wasn’t enough room for the five of them.
Next to last track is Don’t Make Me Sad, similar to previous track but not quite so slow, great pop sound, nice rhyming lyrics, was to pick up on, tap your toes to and won’t offend many but could also be equally forgettable. Last track is The Greatest Show On Earth, long-winded intro, which I expected to move up a notch but it didn’t, it was just too long for me. Also didn’t like all the unnecessary sound effects, even the ending was confusing it actually changes so much from the main part of the track it sounds like an additional track, very confusing.
I think The Feeling have the opportunity to be one of our most successful pop bands, they don’t seem to mind this tag and even seem to encourage it. Five clean cut good looking lads who it seems can do no wrong. It seems that the loyal band of followers they have will be growing and growing, so expect to hear and see even more of this unique blend of rock and cheesy pop.
Love them or hate them it doesn’t really matter, after 13 years together it seems that with this second album they are here to stay.
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