Review Summary: The album that took Feeder from an indie fan's curiosity to a mainstream concern - anthems galore!
It's never been easy for Feeder...even now that they have broken through into the mainstream things were nearly ruined by the suicide of original drummer Jon Lee in 2002. That blow came just months after 'Echo Park' went in at #5 in the UK albums chart, backed by #5 single 'Buck Rogers'. Before the surprising success of this album however Feeder seemed to almost be trying not to break through to the mainstream. Their debut album 'Polythene' came with videos featuring frontman Grant Nicholas prancing around parks in orange suits...I mean, if that's not going to give you a bad first impression of a band then what is?
'Polythene' was a fine album though, and so was it's follow up 'Yesterday Went Too Soon'. Feeder's problem was that they didn't fit in, too rock for Britpop and to pop for Britrock. 'Echo Park' is no different and it really is a mystery why it propelled the band to places the previous two albums failed to. It would be too easy to place all the credit on the shoulders of lead single 'Buck Rogers' but at the end of the day, despite Grant's dislike of the song, it is the reason Feeder are still here today and the reason they became a well known name. 'Buck Rogers' isn't anything special in terms of music or lyrics, it's just got one of the most memorable choruses you'll ever here and a video in which the band play
inside an elephant. It's a song you'll either love or hate, most people love it and those people will have no difficulty loving the rest of 'Echo Park'.
The album is kicked off by the oddity that is 'Standing On The Edge', an intriguing exercise into the quiet-loud dynamics that Feeder thrive on. It's the most ambitious track on the record, melding brain shattering guitar with MIDI keyboard and some rare Grant Nicholas screaming. After 'Buck Rogers' we get 'Piece By Piece', a mellow track reminiscent of their more recent post-Lee material. The brief lull in noise is ended with 'Seven Days In The Sun', a pop rocker about cross dressing and holidays in Majorca. 'We Can't Rewind' is a Jam-esque track, much alike to YWTS's 'Waiting For Changes' and 'Turn' is mellow soft rock for the masses, which somehow gets away with rhyming 'zero' and 'hero'.
It's after this, halfway through the album, that things fall apart a little. 'Choke' is an awful attempt at shouty punk metal while 'Tell All Your Friends' and 'Under The Weather' are disappointing returns to the poppy side shown off so well earlier on the album. It is the two remaining mellow tracks on the album, 'Oxygen' and 'Satellite News' that save the record from being a lopsided failure. Both are thoughtful and 'Satellite News' has taken on a whole new meaning since Jon Lee's premature death. The album is closed by 'Bug', an average punky song featuring
'dirty riffage' as Grant calls it, to make the band sound hard.
If you buy 'Echo Park' just looking out for the upbeat anthemic choruses and the lyrics which don't mean a thing then you are missing out because Feeder are so much more that that. Listen to the album properly and think about what you have heard and you will understand that Feeder are really all about just writing good songs, the ones you have heard on the radio may be the more catchy but if you look a little closer, sifting out the wheat from the chaff then on 'Echo Park' you will get a whole lot more than thoughtless pop rock. Feeder are a band that, contrary to popular belief, have
always meant to have been taken seriously.
DOWNLOAD: 1) Satellite News, 2) Seven Days In The Sun, 3) Standing On The Edge.
