REVIEW: The Feelies - Here Before

Aside from Glenn Mercer's solo release Wheels in Motion in 2007, we haven't had any new music from these folks in 19 years. NINETEEN years. And I have missed them tremendously.

Of course, the anticipation (dare I say, trepidation) was high as I popped in the disc. Would they be a mere shadow of their former selves? Or would the intervening 19 years melt away in a wash of layered guitars and laid-back vocals? The latter, definitely the latter. Given that nobody's voice sounds exactly like it did 19 years ago, I'm impressed at how well the Feelies have managed to recreate their signature sound without sounding at all as though they're going through the motions.

There are a few differences, a little bit more "out-front" guitar on a few of the tracks... but if you've come looking for what I always loved about the Feelies -- a cool, Velvets-inspired fusion of punk and power-pop -- you will not be disappointed. Yes, much of it sounds the same. And it has been that way with the Feelies since The Good Earth... the piano on the beat with the guitars on "Should Be Gone", the way the backbeat moves along under the guitars, from strumming along to blazing solos, and the understated vocals. But when you have a sound this great, why would you change it up? Aside from a couple of surprises: the intro and solo on "When You Know", which quite honestly put me in mind of something by the Sex Pistols, and "Time Is Right", which reminds me in a good way of The Stooges, the record delivers just what you'd expect... and just what I'd hoped for.

Listen to "Should Be Gone"

Should Be Gone - The Feelies by BarNoneRecords

And stream the record here:

AOL Spinner Full CD Stream of Feelies' Here Before

Website: The Feelies at Bar-None Records

Website: Night of the Living Feelies