Feeder Album Review

Feeder – Renegades

Words by Brendan Monteiro

Pushing play on Renegades brings about one hell of a huge suprise. Feeder have found their fire, it has been eluding them slightly on their later releases but it is in full rage on renegades. Feeder always reminded me as a UK answer to The Smashing Pumupkins. Both had semi quiet debut’s that are filled with genius. Both released great follow ups to their debuts and both quite frankly killed their competition with their third releases. Then came the later albums and both seemed to choose a little more of a chilled path that left some fans including myself longing for that original energy of their earlier recordings. To date The Pumpkins haven’t offered me anything to get too excited about however the Newport lads have.

From the instant opening track White Lines starts you know that Feeder have that spark back. It’s not that I want the same songs from Echo Park or Yesterday Went To Soon, I just wanted that energy about them and that is exactly what they have done with Renegades. Call out is as infectious anthem with balls, it’s stomping hooks will have you bopping around in rush hour traffic like a Tasmanian Devil. The album’s title track follows suit with and so does pretty much the remaining 8 tracks. They have replaced the ambient tones of Comfort In Sound or Pushing The Senses with the more dirty beefed up tones of classics like Choke and Bug and it’s a welcome return. It also points towards some more older influences for the band, none more evident than on City In A Rut with it’s guiding riff that just screams of a pure rock and it’s songs like these that should be up on our airwaves. All that aside the overwhelming feeling from Renegades is this, it’s the sound of a band having fun and what more can you ask for then that.