Wednesday, June 27, 2007

CD: The Feeling, "Twelve Stop and Home"

Twelve Stop and Home isn't just the name of The Feeling's debut album or a reference to the Piccadilly line that they sing about in classic Beatles style on "Blue Piccadilly." It's also a way of noting the progression of the album's tracks--twelve in all. The construction, like that of the train, is the same throughout: technically precise and rarely daring mechanics, upbeat melodies and lyrics, and '80s rhythm. But each stop, so to speak, takes the listener to a different location, and every track has its own unique outer twist, like the stuttering calls of "Never Be Lonely," the Queen-like anthems of "I Want You Now," the double-time grind on "Anyone," and the surprising instrumental solos on "Same Old Stuff" and "Helicopter" (metal!). Dan Gillespie Sells's voice is easy to dig, and his words are summer-easy, but the linchpin of the group is Ciaran Jeremiah, who pulls some experimental britpop out of his keyboards with the erratic "Fill My Little World With Love."

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