Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

It is always good to find that a group that have managed to worm their way into your collection, that have produced eloquently driven pop songs and the odd anthem pleaser, still retain the power to bring about the sentiment of beauty and the sensation of enjoyment four albums down the line, it should come as no surprise though when that band is The Feeling.

The self-titled fifth album is no stranger to the listener, the refrains and drive remain intact, the impression of a cohesive band bringing their affection of individuality to the stage is not tempered or an illusion; what The Feeling manage to do is quite simply feel their way in the bright sunshine of opinion busters and confound those who believe that straight forward Pop/Rock is an amalgamation too far.

It is in that confounding spirit that the band remain enjoyable, that they offer a twin sensibility that sits well in either genre’s court and the new album is no exception; it bursts with flavour and intoxicating lace like sensual cool whilst at the same time cladding its self in denim and storming down with the very best of them. It is the twin hybrid, the mutual beneficiary which alludes to positivity and creative intelligence that makes the instinct of the listener take up the easy going nature and challenge set out by the band; a challenge that is nothing but impressionable and a delight.

The album, in its self a wonderful sense of duality within its cover with a version of the songs captured live and with studio outtakes thrown in for good measure, pounds away with a velvet touch, the responsibility of the careful and sensitive lover at its fingertips, contains such beauties as Wicked Heart, Non Stop American, Young Things and the excellent Shadow Boxer within its open palms. It is an offering that cannot be ignored for long and the listener has much to gain from taking up the overwhelming proposal set out by the band.

A welcome return to the studio after three years of silence, a disconcerting quiet that seems unnatural and uncommon for such a talented and well informed band, The Feeling is returned, The Feeling is once more alive.

Ian D. Hall