1. I Thought It Was Over
2. Without You
3. Join With Us
4. Spare Me
5. Turn It Up
6. I Did It For Everyone
7. Won't Go Away
8. Loneliness
9. Conor
10. This Time
11. Don't Make Me Sad
12. The Greatest Show On Earth
In our heart of hearts, we all know we shouldn't
really like The Feeling. We know that they're music
for mums and accountants' secretaries, a
band whose destiny should have been to play covers
sets at corporate parties in Dubai and Coventry. But,
let's face it, it's just impossible to hate something
so glorious.
The Feeling's saving grace is their utter
unpretentiousness combined with the same resplendent
love of a good pop tune championed by bands such as
Abba and The Pet Shop Boys - with less
showing off involved. In the middle of this, they've
somehow managed to make sounding like
Supertramp acceptable to people who wear skinny
jeans so tight they can hardly breathe.
How this works at all is a mystery. How they manage
to do it without being camp, too nerdy, too smug or
too boring is a musical version of The Da Vinci Code.
On second album Join With Us, they repeat their
winning formula from Twelve Steps And Home, add
stadium strings and transatlantic ambition, and come
out sounding like Keane with credibility and a
sense of humour. And, of course, with much better
music.
This is all mixed in with the cheeky cleverness of
the boy you know your mum will like when you bring him
home. The disposability of lyrics such as "From the
bottom to the top/I thought it was over but it's not"
on the opening track plays to their strengths, pulling
XfM and Heart to the same bosom as it sits them down
with afternoon tea and cakes for a nice chat backstage
at KOKO.
Elsewhere they swing effortlessly from bittersweet
romance (Without You, Loneliness) to upbeat brassy
danceability-cum-heavy metal riffage (Join With Us,
Spare Me) to gentle pop-rock (Turn It Up, I Did It For
Everyone) to simple chirpy cheeriness (Won't Go Away).
You'll find luxurious stadium strings on Conor
(possibly the album's best track), a killer piano
intro on Don't Make Me Sad and then, at the end of the
album, The Feeling's piece de resistance.
By finishing on the dark, moody and gloriously
Victoriana-soaked The Greatest Show On Earth, Dan
Gillespie Sells and pals could almost be accused of
showing off, proving that they could 'do a Coldplay'
any time they want, and take Chris Martin at his own
game in the process. At the moment, they don't want
to, they're too busy making our little lives light up.
But as a warning for the future, they're showing what
they're capable of. If this is their 'difficult'
second album, then the world is their oyster, and they
can take it any time they want.
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