Feeder

Torpedo

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Genre: Rock.
Released: 18/03/2022
Via Big Teeth Music

Album Review: Feeder – Torpedo

Multi-platinum-selling south Welsh rockers, Feeder, are back with their latest album ‘Torpedo’. The new album follows the momentum set by their resurgent run of three consecutive UK Top 10’s, with 2016’s ‘All Bright Electric’, 2017’s ‘Best Of’, and 2019’s ‘Tallulah’. The band will be hoping to make this a fourth.

Despite the press material for the album promising one of the “one of the […] heaviest records of their career”, the album doesn’t just chuck you in at the deep end, easing you in with the heavenly acoustics of ‘The Healing’. The song doesn’t stay like this throughout however, with it building into a true rock anthem that alludes to climate change in lyrics like “The world that we know may be bleeding, But we still have time”.

Lead single and title track ‘Torpedo’ follows. Chugging riffs from the off set backed by some mean drumming, this song captivated me from first listen when it released back in August. I love its catchy hooks and fierce energy. Second single ‘Magpie’ continues this energy, touching close to being a thrash rock song; lyrically talking about division, with lyrics like “It only takes one word, Shattered illusions hurt”. I can’t wait to hear both tracks live. Conversely ‘Hide and Seek’ slows the album right down, offering a nice moment of reflection with a dreamy ballad to bring us to the midpoint of the album’.

The second half of the album kicks off with ‘Decompress’, treading into grunge-y territory – feeling reminiscent of the band’s 1996 song ‘Stereo World’ – both it and subsequent track, ‘Wall of Silence’, talk about that crushing frustration brought about by the on and off lockdowns from the past few years. With lyrics like “See what tomorrow has to give, Before we lose our minds” in the former and “Living in our heads…The weeks just slip away, Day after day, We just hide away” in the latter. Both tracks feel like future Feeder classics.

I love the electric feeling riff at the opening and pre-chorus bits of ‘Born To Love You’. ‘Submission’ gives a great end to the album, adding a nice build up and release of energy to send the album off.

Almost 30 years since they formed, ‘Torpedo’ shows the culmination of those years of honing their skills, from its catchy song writing, to its great instrumental work and diverse styles, this album is well worth checking out.