Feeder
Torpedo

For the past seven years, Feeder has been experiencing a newfound popularity.

With three consecutive works in the British top ten, the duo consisting of Grant Nicholas and Taka Hirose has regained a form that seemed definitively lost after some episodes that were certainly not bad, but rather below par (“Renegades” above all). With “Tallulah,” released three years ago, the Welsh band has definitively relaunched itself in terms of quality and popularity, achieving an unexpected top five in the UK chart and, riding the wave of enthusiasm, frontman and main songwriter Nicholas immediately set to work on a hypothetical eleventh studio album.

With the work practically completed (only mixing left to do), what we all know happened: pandemic, lockdown, and all that ensued. Nicholas then went back to writing and shelved the entire album (temporarily, as it will probably be released in a year) to start from scratch and work on a new set of songs, which will comprise this “Torpedo,” the eleventh actual release by Feeder.

From a certain perspective, it is an album that is the closest thing to a return to origins that the two have ever released post-“Polythene” (stunning debut dated 1997); there is once again a marked dirty and grunge aftertaste in the ten compositions offered, which definitely takes over in the tight riffing and greyer atmospheres of “Decompress,” “Slow Strings,” and especially “Magpie,” the second single and a real knockout reminiscent of Alice In Chains.

This more oppressive patina is recurring throughout the album's duration, and it also becomes evident where the duo reconnects with the more British and melodic side of their proposition, such as the fourth single “The Healing,” a ballad over six minutes long that takes us back to the atmospheres of more accessible albums like “Pushing The Senses” and “Comfort In Sound,” before shuffling the deck with a violent interlude tinged with prog metal. The title track, aptly chosen as the lead single, is a true programmatic manifesto of the album's sound, reiterated by the following track “When It All Breaks Down,” which showcases the best riff of the album in the verse, alternating with an airy chorus in full Feeder style.

But the house specialty, namely an impressive prowess in crafting near-perfect melodies, can never be absent: thus comes a sumptuous “Born To Love You,” a Britrock anthem positioned just before the calmer closure “Submission” (which pairs with “Hide And Seek”), and the third extract “Wall Of Silence,” which leans more toward radio airplay (or rather, given the times, Spotify playlists).

Another bullseye for the historic Welsh band.

Best track: Born To Love You