The Feeling are a London-based rock band formed in 1995. They have released four full-lengths, starting with their 2006 debut, Twelve Stops And Home. Their most recent record, Boy Cried Wolf, was released in their native Britain in 2013, but crossed our shores only recently. The group has played at Coachella, toured with The Fray, and been nominated for a BRIT award for their song, “Never Be Lonely.”
Boy Cried Wolf opens with “Blue Murder,” a mellow, Keane-like rock song, which builds up into a soaring, repetitive chorus of “blue murdah.” “Anchor” is slightly angrier, and showcases vocalist Dan Gillespie Sells’ raw voice. It is a song of letting go, with the anchor being a metaphor for someone dragging you down and keeping you in one place. Further along in the album is “A Lost Home,” which is one of the most melancholic tracks on the record. It features sludgy guitars, but a keyboard adds higher, happier notes which are nearly hidden within the music. In “You’ll See,” Sells sounds like a crossover between Phil Collins and James Blunt, until he is joined by a choir wistfully oohing. The closer, “I Just Do,” ends the release on a sorrowful note, with the frontman wishing he no longer felt the way he currently does.
The record is well done, yet somewhat of a downer because it gradually becomes gloomier as it goes on. The Feeling know how to channel their sadness into music that listeners can identify with, and keep their Brit-pop style steady. One can only imagine how great an album The Feeling would record if they were in a good mood.
In A Word: Pessimistic
