The Feelies - Here Before

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4...according to our Clinton on Fri 20 May, 2011.

My teenage self would have squeaked with glee had it known that 20 years on it would be writing a review of a new Feelies album. Having spend a large portion of my adolescence sitting alone thumbing through back issues of Q magazine, The Feelies were one of those names (like The Sneetches, Game Theory, The Shoes) that sprung out of the page when a comparison to REM was mooted. The Feelies actually started out like some kind of Talking Heads, Modern Lovers cross breed but by 1988 were producing wonderful pastoral guitar pop that owed something to the gentle college rock of early Stipe & Co. Anyway a mere 20 years after what I presumed was their final album, 'Time for a Witness', here they are with a brand new batch of songs. At their age (Glen Mercer must be about 80 now?) they are not going to attempt to re-create the nervy energy of their '70's output so what we get is something that could easily have followed their 80's work, the recently re-issued 'The Good Earth' and the criminally ignored 'Only Life'. Hugely influenced by The Velvet Underground, their songs are simple, almost singalong at times but expertly produced with lovely intertwining electric and acoustic guitars strumming away. It needs a couple of spins for the subtle melodies to spring through, lyrics and vocals have never really been their strong point but its an overall laid back, summery vibe that ensures that the album is a lovely listen from start to finish despite the lack of killer melody. Listening again its quite amazing how much Yo La Tengo have drawn influence from The Feelies, I'd hazard a guess that Galaxie 500 may have been taking notes too. A lovely, unexpected return from a fine, underrated band, now for a show or two in the United Kingdom perchance?

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After a 19 year break and some critically acclaimed reissues released by Domino, the Feelies are back with Here Before an album of all new original material on Bar/None Records.

The new album touches on different styles from the Feelies’ long history while adding new grooves and musical ideas to the mix. Electric and acoustic guitars melt together in archetypal Feelies fashion on songs like “Nobody Knows” and “Should be Gone. “ Elsewhere there are slabs of driving garage rock like "When You Know" and "Time Is Right" and the down-tempo ”Bluer Skies,” and harmonically rich “Later On."

Here Before was recorded at Water Music in Hoboken, New Jersey produced by Feelies founders Glenn Mercer and Bill Million. Besides Glenn on rhythm/lead guitar and lead vocals, and Bill on guitar and vocals, the album features Feelies mainstays Brenda Sauter-Barnes (bass, vocals), Stanley Demeski (drums), and Dave Weckerman (percussion).

The Feelies quickly became one of the most zealously touted acts on the highly competitive late 70s New York scene and underground heroes in their native New Jersey. They were signed to the trendsetting British label Stiff and released their debut album Crazy Rhythms in 1980. Rolling Stone, Spin and countless other magazines would eventually declare the album one of the greatest of that era but it was not a commercial success upon its initial release. The Feelies soon felt stifled by their dealings with Stiff and took a six year “hiatus” from recording while its members continued to write, record and perform together and in collaboration with friends and neighbors under names like “the Trypes,” “Yung Wu” and “the Willies.” Feelies’ music wound up in a number of films including Smithereens and Jonathan Demme’s Something Wild.

The Feelies proper re-emerged with a new rhythm section (the line-up they’ve had ever since and that appears on Here Before) in 1984 and recorded The Good Earth, co-produced by Million, Mercer and REM’s Peter Buck). The album was released 1986 on the Coyote label (run by Steve Fallon, owner of Hoboken, NJ’s Maxwells, and the group’s manager for a spell), followed by two further releases on Coyote through Twin/Tone/A&M: Only Life (1988) and Time For A Witness (1991). The band shared bills with Patti Smith, LouReed, REM and Bob Dylan during this period and toured nationally.

Many of their fans probably didn’t think they would ever get a chance to see the Feelies perform again let alone have a new album in their hands. Here Before adds a solid fifth album to the Feelies discography. The album will be released digitally as well as on CD and vinyl with a download card.

Tracklisting:

1.Nobody Knows
2.Should Be Gone
3.Again Today
4.When You Know
5.Later On
6. Way Down
7.Morning Comes
8.Change Your Mind
9. Here Before
10.Time Is Right
11. Bluer Skies
12. On and On
13.So Far

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