The Feeling - Together We Were Made (Album Review)
Wednesday, 22 June 2011
Written by Hayley Taylor
So the band that brought us the pop classics ‘Fill My Little World’ and 'I Love It When You Call’ have gone all serious on us. Gone are the unashamedly catchy pop songs that won the band Brit and Q Award nominations and helped them sell two million records. The Feeling’s third album is a more modest affair and sees them attempt to explore their melancholy side.
The album opens with ‘Set My World On Fire’; a pretty pop song built around a calypso beat with summery vibes and soft vocals. It’s an obvious first single and an easy set up for what has the potential to be another collection of their signature twinkly pop songs. Instead, the album moves slowly into a patchy miscellany of forgettable songs.
The Feeling are known for their bubbling vibrancy with hook-laden choruses that invade your brain for days. Those are a struggle to find here and the tracks are riddled with the overriding theme of ill-fated love and melancholy.
‘Another Soldier’ is an almost ambitious attempt at something new, with a soft stampede stride - but what they accomplish sounds more like a B-side for a boy band’s single. They consider how it feels to have to fight for what you desire but the sluggish, marching pace doesn’t reflect the yearning ardor of the lyrics.
‘Leave Me Out Of It’, a duet with singer Dan's wife Sophie Ellis-Bexter is instantly forgettable, which is lucky as it’s an unfortunate cringe-inducing affair.
The album picks up pace on ‘Searched Every Corner’; an electro pop inspired track with a touch of Scissor Sisters and a potential single. ‘A Hundred Sinners (Come And Get It)’ is one of the strongest songs; inspired by the Bugsy Malone soundtrack, this is loud and proud and where the album reaches its high point. Here the band embrace what they do best and don't try to do something more adventurous. The band describe it as “…A nod to being completely stupid and jubilant and decadent” – which is what they should have pursued for more of the tracks as it works.
‘Back Where I Came From’ is a dire, 80s tinged ballad which is dry and lacks sentiment with uninspiring lyrics like, “Sticks and stones will break these bones, they’re only words they won’t hurt me.”
The piano led ‘Mr Grin’ on the other hand is filled with passion and anger. Here the band gain some guts and the vocals reflect the emotion in the lyrics. ‘Say No’ is the most anthemic sounding and is a great track. Unlike other songs on the album, this one comes to a climax; with a sing-along chorus and gospel chanting, this is destined to be a live favourite.
The album sees the band forgetting everything that worked for them in the past and instead they explore despondency through a slumbering collection of tracks. There is an occasional flicker of the sparkle they once owned, but overall it is inconsistent and stuck in first gear. Working with dance chart hit churners, The Freemasons, is usually a recipe for success, but here it’s hardly noticeable. ‘Together We Are Made’ doesn't follow the recipe that made them famous – it is limp and underwhelming effort that fails to engage and is not solid enough to demand any attention.
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The album opens with ‘Set My World On Fire’; a pretty pop song built around a calypso beat with summery vibes and soft vocals. It’s an obvious first single and an easy set up for what has the potential to be another collection of their signature twinkly pop songs. Instead, the album moves slowly into a patchy miscellany of forgettable songs.
