black feelingsBlack Feelings' trebly Peter-Hook-like basslines, compressed effects-pedal guitars, glacial keyboards, tuneless ranting vocals and splashy drums, all covered in a thick layer of reverb, bring to mind any number of 80s Post Punk bands from Joy Division to the Fall. This three piece, consisting of Owain Lawson on drums and vocals, Brian Mitchell on bass and Kyle Fostner switching between guitar and keyboards, often seems to be straining towards and grand cinematic sweep with their music. 'Gails' in particular features relatively few vocals and nods towards Ennio Morricone with it's slowly-unfolding bassline backed by droning keyboards. Other tracks, such as 'Eternal Bad Trip' feature fast basslines and frenetic drumming and seem more geared towards live performance and encouraging audience members to fling themselves about with abandon. In common with many current bands, Owain Lawson's vocals are often buried in the mix, distorted and (of course) soaked in reverb and seem to be intended to be heard as a part of the overall sound rather than focussed upon by the listener. The lyrics that are comprehensible are largely just repetitive sloganeering, although they delivered with a heartening amount of enthusiasm. I wouldn't be at all surprised if Black Feelings are not a very exciting live band, unfortunately the energy hinted at on this recording is sapped by production that delivers lots of 80s-era shine, but the cavernous echo isn't enough to disguise the lack of depth. -- nick ilott.
:: Black Feelings/Black Feelings - Alien8/Cargo.
