On Wednesday night I was one of the lucky few, privileged enough to see The Feeling playing some of their new songs which will potentially make it to their upcoming record. And what a night it was! We were treated to 10 fantastic new songs; here is a brief run-down of my initial thoughts on each – enjoy!
Set My World On Fire
Instant crowd pleaser. I had seen about half of the song performed just by Dan a few weeks beforehand, so I was already in love with it. It was great to finally hear the full song, and it sounds absolutely phenomenal with the whole band. Definitely a contender for the lead single.
Set My World On Fire
Leave Me Out Of It
The long-awaited Feeling/Sophie Ellis Bextor duet! And it did not disappoint! Not sure why, but I couldn’t get this back in my head very easily after the gig. However, since hearing it again I’m falling more and more in love with it! So I would say to some extent it’s a grower, but I’ve quickly learnt to love it and I remember being completely in awe of seeing Sophie with The Feeling – my two favorite artists working together – you don’t see that everyday!
Penny’s Dropped
Omnichord! Excuse my excitement, but the omnichord lends this song such a beautiful, shimmery feel. It has some really lovely lyrics – something which Mr. Sells does very well indeed! I just can’t stress how beautiful the omnichord sounds!
Love And Care
Initially I feel this song is musically reminiscent of one of my favorite Feeling B-Sides, ‘Play, Don’t Think’. And as it gets towards the end I feel it becomes quite reminiscent of The Beatles or Paul McCartney which is fantastic to hear! More beautiful lyrics here also. This one stayed in my head quite well after just one listen which is always a good sign.
Leave Me Out Of It (With Sophie Ellis Bextor)
Another Soldier
This was one which stuck in my head a lot after the gig. It’s hugely emotional but incredibly catchy, because much like ‘Fill My Little World’, it runs off the beat. Another strong candidate for a single I think.
Say No
It’s taken me a while to decide, but I think I can say that this is my favorite from the night. It sent shivers down my spine from the first listen (I really was in bits!) and since it’s just got better and better. It was also one of the songs that stuck in my mind most throughout the next day. There are some really beautiful lyrics in the song which really touched me. I think what I love most about it, is that it starts out small and builds to an amazing climax – there is so much going on by the end!
Seven Years
Another instant crowd pleaser here. I can see that this would make a fantastic single as well as ‘Set My World On Fire’ and ‘Another Soldier’. It’s a brilliantly catchy, all-out pop song. As it began the room just exploded in colour! This was another one that stuck in my head, probably more than any other after the gig. And throughout the next day I just couldn’t resist bursting into ‘love is what you make it, and if you break it, you get seven years bad luck’!
Seven Years
Searched Every Corner
Initially this is looking to be one of my favorites. They’re working with the Freemasons on this song, which is very exciting. This is another up-beat, all-out pop song, defying anybody not to dance. Something I find that The Feeling can do a lot lyrically, is writing lyrics that everybody can relate to, and this is another classic example. It’s hard to explain but it just feels so natural to me.
Bullshit Rules The World
This is a song which I’ve known existed for a very long time so it was great to finally hear it. It’s not dissimilar to a Rage Against The Machine song and makes a very valid statement on society – I particularly liked the line ‘But you ain’t getting paid, til you’ve compromised and neutralised your whole life away’. I feel this says a lot about how the music industry is going, which is why I love The Feeling – they don’t compromise their music for the sake of the record company, it comes straight from the heart.
Undeniable
After the first listen this wasn’t one which particularly stuck in my mind. Although I can say that this is definitely a grower – and a fast grower at that! Having listened to it several times since I can safely say that this song is beautifully epic! Again it’s lyrically stunning, (My favorite line has to be ‘Together we were made’) and as Dan says, the 12-string guitar is so pretty!
Filming the encore with amazing camera glasses!
Once again I have to say it was an absolutely fantastic night. The new songs combine the best of ‘Twelve Stops And Home’ and ‘Join With Us’ and will make welcome additions to the already thriving family of Feeling songs! This leaves me so excited for the new album, I can hardly contain it!
All photos in this article courtesy of Karen Heath
Great review! It was a brilliant night and I love the new songs, especially “7 Years”, “Soldier” and “Say No”. xx