Feeder
Echo Park

THE REVIEW

It was January 2002 when Jon Lee, the historic drummer and founding member of Feeder, committed suicide in his home in Miami. Only a year earlier, “Echo Park” had been released, the album that marked a turning point in the career of the Welsh trio.

“Echo Park” is an excellent album that alternates between more intense tracks and more relaxed ones, filled with that typically English melody. It's an album still far from the deep melancholy that pervades its successor “Comfort In Sound”, but even here the band doesn’t fail to deliver the stunning ballads we've come to expect over the years: “Piece By Piece”, “Turn”, “Oxygen”. All the tracks are always characterized by the beautiful lyrics of frontman Grant Nicholas, truly a talented songwriter.

The album kicks off with “Standing On The Edge”, an intense piece with a laid-back chorus that creates a nice contrast. It continues with the big single “Buck Rogers” and “Piece By Piece”, a soft and truly touching ballad. Then we find “Seven Days In The Sun”, another nice fast and danceable track, and “Turn”, the second ballad of the album, truly beautiful, leading up to “Oxygen”, a sad and melancholic but at the same time charged and angry track. The album ends on a rather energetic and adrenaline-filled note, culminating in “Bug”, characterized by a great guitar intro. Additionally, an interesting novelty is the introduction of electronics present in almost all the tracks. The only flaw is that perhaps some songs tend to resemble each other a little too much.

In short, “Echo Park” is a beautiful album that alternates pogo moments with touching reflective moments. The following year, Feeder would release the masterpiece album “Comfort In Sound” dedicated to their late friend, thus reaffirming their status as one of the best British bands around, but that’s another story.