Yonas Campbell reviews the debut album from 'creaspop' group FEET.
Creasepop has arrived in style, and it’s teasing you to join in the party.
“What on earth is ‘creasepop’?” I hear you utter. Good question; but I will let the crazy, jangle-guitar hooked lads from five-piece band FEET show you, with their daring debut album “What’s Inside Is More Than Just Ham”. Throughout this hour of music we hear ten songs that not only blur the lines between indie, post-punk, funk, pop and garage rock, but see such trifling labels disregarded with a swagger rarely heard in guitar music today.
Opening the LP with “Good Richard’s Crash Landing”, we immediately hear this group's array of talent, but most notably their ambition. The song begins with a slow, almost space-like verse, filled with abstract lyrics like “soaking in the saturated grain… hanging over my cynical English eyes”. After a quasi-psychedelic lead-in we move to the groove of the drums and basslines, hearing vocals imbued with character and confidence, before crashing into a powerful post-punk chorus. This cycles again, before we hear the tempo quicken. Where to next? Pop-punk is where, and somehow it’s totally fitting. Slowing down once more we return to the realm of the indie, as the vocal melody reaches up to cradle the word “paradise”. A short burst of sarcastic attitude to close and we’re ready to hear what’s next.
“Ad Blue” is the first of two consecutive creasepop anthems. After the condensed array of the opener, our ears hear that this is different. When the bass kicks in our heads to begin to nod, our feet (pun intended) begin to tap. Admittedly when I heard this live (my first experience of FEET), the bass was much more prominent, and it does feel a touch underused in the studio version. That being said, as the guitars make their entrance, joined by the vocals, it’s as if the Beatles “Taxman” has taken LSD and been set free into the world of the joyous jangle-pop anthem. With the guitar parts emanating in full use of the stereo format, this record saturates your mind with its creasepop passion. Here we understand first and foremost what FEET are about: making good music and enjoying yourself. It’s hard to ignore the funk influences, but the band combines genres so effortlessly it’s almost offensive in its brilliance.
“English Weather” is more of the same creasepop fun, as hear the crucial opinion “supermarket trousers, think I’d rather die”, reminding us of the wit inherent to this band. Filled with references to everyday British life it reminds us of Blur, but with the swagger of Oasis thrown in.
To contrast this, “Petty Thieving” gives us a bludgeoningly cool garage/post-punk track, rivalling anything produced by the best band of this genre at the moment, Fontaines DC. An upbeat section within forms a reflective, almost sensitive centre to what is an otherwise bashful song. It’s downright beautiful this section, perhaps my favourite melody on the album. We of course end with the affirmation that thievery is indeed the best course of action. The almost nihilistic sentiment on this particular track serves as a fascinating counterpoint to earlier creasepop anthems. But we were warned of such paradoxes in the opener, and we grow to understand that FEET are a band of dizzying irony.
“Outer Rim” sees more of this raw garage sound, with the vocals again serving the song to perfection. The vocals on this album are a certain highlight, never failing to live up to all the musical changes and styles to communicate the appropriate feeling. “Dog Walking” then serves as a lovely indie counterpoint, balancing out the previous heavy hitters. Soaring melodies and harmonies serve to comfort the listener as we head into the last part of the album.
Duel-vocal “Chalet 47” feels like a creasepop dream song. Again observational British lyrics such as “seaside daydreams” and “service station toilets” underpin FEET’s lyrical ability; but nothing could prepare us for the following entry, “Axe Man”. My personal favourite of the album, it swaggers into life with guitars and vocals and an infectious drumbeat. This track sums the band up; we hear their laissez-faire attitude (“life’s a joke... puff a smoke... if I get caught I deserve it”), and feel their incredible joie de vivre as the song struts, before building and letting loose to the groove in the chorus. This song is criminal, Criminal with a capital “c”, one might say. I couldn’t help but hear shades of Duck Sauce’s “Barbra Streisand”, a song which is outrageous in its repetitive optimism. Like that song, “Axe Man” bursts at the brim with an inclusive joy I’ve not heard on many records put out in the last year.
We then hear the title track, and if the previous tune typified their slick optimism, this certainly encapsulates their outright quirkiness. Yet, it ends up being incredibly charming. Here pop meets post-punk, psychedelia and funk, with a touch of the doo-woop towards the end. Throughout the guitars stutter along, serving as an intelligent contrast to the solidity of the bass and drums. Repeated philosophical references to hot dogs, and we’re certain this band has the kind of genius that finds its shelter in madness. After a pause, we hear FEET’s further influence with a typical 1950s-style I-vi-ii-V doo-wop progression. Completely unexpected, yet it fits perfectly.
Closing track “Wiggy Pop” begins with another soaring melody. I correct my earlier statement: this is my favourite melody on the album. As guitars craft lines of purity within the song, we’re reminded that this band are “just taking the piss, having a laugh” as vocalist George Haverson chuckles into the mic. This the parting message: FEET don’t care if you take them seriously, in fact they’d rather you didn’t. But left indelibly in the mind of the listener their genius remains; a genius for musicality and confident sensibility.
I’m all yours FEET. Tonight, I toast to creasepop.
9/10
Yonas Campbell
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