THE FEELING
Twelve Stops and Home
Island/Universal
· Like punk never happened, but in a good way.
The Feeling hail from Sussex and London, and describe themselves as pop and proud of it. It may be unlikely to find a five-piece in their mid-20s citing The Carpenters, 10cc, E.L.O., and Queen as influences, but like the aforementioned outfits, The Feeling subscribe to a singles-friendly perspective on Twelve Stops and Home. "Fill My Little World," "Kettle's On," "Love It When You Call," "Same Old Stuff" and the candles-aloft ballad "Strange" sound like cuts from a greatest hits LP, rather than a debut album. It is an old-school album – "Never Be Lonely" even revives the long-lost pop tradition of the stuttering hook.
If American rock ’n’ roll was rooted in the coded language of black culture (hence the name), British pop added a gay subtext – courtesy of early movers and shakers like Brian Epstein and Joe Meek. Singer Dan Gillespie Sells perpetuates the great British gay songwriting tradition of writing in the second person, aside from "Sewn" where he sings to himself. With a little luck, Twelve Stops and Home might earn The Feeling the contemporary equivalent to Morrissey and glam-era Bowie's audience.
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