Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
It might be an easy and somewhat flippant statement to suggest that you know exactly what you are going to get when listening to the new album from The Feeling. Not much really changes for the band, the songs are always pleasant enough, they strike the right balance between being accessible to all ages and to even those with the extremist of music tastes, should they want to try something different and away from their comfort zone that is, and between looked on as, to quote many, the fairly vulgar term of kitsch. Boy Cried Wolf though is something more.
It is almost as if the group want to flex a few more muscles, to retain the language of their success but also fly slightly off the course of what people set out for them. In short, the album is far more interesting and in parts darker than anything they have produced before.
Boy Cried Wolf preserves the past, there is no need to always change what works after all, however there is always need for growth, to broaden the appeal of your art and whilst not descending into a full blown anarchic set of songs, certain songs prick the ear, delve into the subconscious more than any album they have done before. Blue Murder, the superb Anchor, the gentleness of regret of A Lost Home and the very enjoyable When I Look Above all make the Boy Cried Wolf an album which owes to the progression of the song writing ability and the way that the five young men have come into this venture seemingly with their eyes wide open.
As ever Dan Sells’ vocals is perhaps the main selling point but there is also the mastery of a distant keyboard that lurks like a heralding angel waiting for the right moment to deliver a piece of good news and superbly by Ciaran Jeremiah, the guitars that breathe life throughout each song and Paul Stewart’s drums announce themselves deftly and with artistry.
Boy Cried Wolf proves you should never try to supress a splendid sensation, instead you should just let it wash over you and enjoy it for what it is, a glorious feeling.
Ian D. Hall