Customer Reviews

Comfort in Sound

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I'd give this one 6 stars if I could.

I'd also put this album is great company of albums like "The Bends" by Radiohead, "All That You Cant Leave Behind" by U2, "Mellon Collie" by the Smashing Pumpkins...you know, the type of album when you first hear it, you go "WOW" and it gives your goose bumps. This album left me speechless.

I'm not sure what that last review only gave it three stars and then said the album "seems to get every note right.." In my opinion, this album is a masterpiece. I'm a fan of music by Radiohead, U2, among other bands. If you like bands such Coldplay, Travis, you will definitely dig this record, b/c like the recent strong albums from those bands, there is so much melody in each of these songs. As such, this album is already a huge hit in the UK and rightly so. I'd would be criminal if it didn't get the same notoriery in America. I wont go too much into the tragic circumstances prior to the making of the record (their drummer, Jon Lee, committed suicide before the making of the record), but I will go over each song:

Just The Way I'm Feeling--11/10. Best song on the album--in my opinion possibly the best rock song of the year. Slow rocker full of emotion and melody.

Come Back Around--9/10. Resilient 1st single. Feeder didn't come out with a slow song after the drummer's suicide; instead, their first single is a Foo Fighters sounding rocker that oozes sadness yet also is a strong rocking reaffirmation of life.

Helium--7/10. Slow, yet very heavy rocker. Good song but not among the top echelon of the album.

Child In You--8/10. Sounds like a child's melody, not too different from "No Surprises" from Radiohead yet more haunting and not as catchy as Radiohead's masterpiece. Great song though.

Comfort In Sound--10/10. Sounds very old Radiohead-like, with fuzzed up guitar effects. Great melody. The title and concept of finding "comfort in sound" is something many of us can relate to.

Forget About Tomorrow--10/10. Arena rocker, lush with strings and a very catchy melody. The emotion on this song is amazing.

Summer's Gone--7/10. Good song, though not a standout like the previous two songs.

Godzilla--5/10. The only song on this album that I'm not crazy about. Heavy, loud song, though tolerable. Grant Nicholas said in an interview that this is the last song Jon Lee (drummer) jammed to. Kind of a theurapeutic song when you need noise to get over something.

Quickfade--9/10. Feeder's paeaen to Jon Fee. Touching song with catchy chorus, fuzzy sounds, ("I miss you more than words can say/a part of me is torn away..").

Find The Colour--9/10. Great, incredibly catchy song. Great rocker, a little faster, with lots of melody.

Love Pollution--11/10. This slow rocker sounds like it was taken out of Radiohead's "The Bends". So much emotion, so much melody, the first time I heard this song I was really blown away.

Moonshine--9/10. Perfect ending to the album, a great song. Its has a quiet/loud dynamic that encapsulates many of the emotions on the record. A more perfect ending couldn't be had.

All in all, I think out of the 12 songs, 10 can be considered great songs, and of those at least half are masterpieces. Considering the circumstances, and then just focusing on the songs, it is truly the record of the year in my opinion.

I am very passionate about this album b/c it has so moved me. Download a few songs for yourself and then buy the album. I promise you wont be disappointed.

I'm not the type of person who can easily sit down and listen to a CD entirely throughout...I've always been the type who likes maybe 3 songs, will listen to just those, and then switch CDs. But with Comfort in Sound, it's totally different. I play this album all the way through numerous times. Every song has a catchy melody. Some are melancholy, some are cheery, and each song has some of Grant Nicholas' emotions incorporated somehow (and that's not a bad thing at all). This is by far my favorite CD..I wish the people in the states would catch on to this amazing band as much as people in the UK have!! NOT JUST RECOMMENDED, IT'S A MUST-BUY!!!!

If it's true that artists must suffer for their art, then Grant Nicholas and Taka Hirose of Feeder more than qualify. As part of the power pop outfit Feeder, they lost their drummer and friend Jon Lee in January 2002 to suicide. Nicholas and Hirose would be forgiven for packing up and heading home. But they didn't. Instead, they went back to the studio with renewed purpose and focus. The result is Comfort in Sound - an album full of big, dramatic rock that both mourns Lee's death and celebrates his life. Like AC/DC after Bon Scott's death, Feeder decided to throw a party and not a wake. In both cases, the move has paid off handsomely.

Almost every song on Comfort in Sound deals with the band's grief over Lee's death. But while the lyrics mourn the end, the music tends to mark a new begining of sorts, using powerful pop melodies to counter sadness with hope. That's the hallmark of many a legendary band (The Beatles, Husker Du), and Feeder are wise to follow suit. Songs like "Just the Way I'm Feeling," "Come Back Around," and the title track all serve to let Feeder rock out their despair. And they all work beautifully, using every trick in the book to soar (big guitars, swelling strings, multi-layered riffs). But none of it feels counterfeit, perhaps because we know the story behind the album already. The rockers are balanced with a series of ballads ("Child in You", "Quick Fade") that combine both the beautiful and the melancholy. And the final epic "Moonshine" combines the best of both - a sad, sweeping song that conveys all the mixed emotions of loss.

Comfort in Sound can feel homogenous at times, the unfortunate byproduct of Lee's death. But that's a small quibble with an album that seems to get every note right. Feeder likely won't gather the same kind of audience in America as fellow Britpop Gods Coldplay, but listeners looking to take a chance on Comfort in Sound will be rewarded by a band dealing with tragedy in the best way possible. Here's hoping Nicholas and Hirose don't have to deal with any more heartbreak in order to keep making great music.

Compared to the simple melodies and lyrics of some of Feeder's earlier work, this is a real advance, as the death of drummer Jon Henry Lee has lead to some beautifully contemplative music and showing Grant Nicholas as a songwriter of subtlety and maturity.

The effects of Lee's death are very strong, with many lyrics appearing to refernece this. The contemplative mood of Child In You and Love Pollution balances with the raw anger and misery of Godzilla and Summer's Gone.

Most direct of all, however, is Quick Fade's chorus of "I miss you more than words can say, a part of me is torn away", which, when set to a subtle electronic backing with a turntable-esque effect leading into the chorus, makes for perhaps the album's highpoint.

Also up there are Love Pollution, with some memorable lyrics and a wonderful singalong finale, the UK Top 10 hit Just the Way I'm Feeling, and the faster guitar-driven Helium (there's a great acoustic version of this one out there as well).

Although one or two tracks are merely ordinary, and Godzilla isn't to everyone's taste and sounds strange in this company (immediately before Quick Fade, perhaps adding to the impact), this album is basically a joy.

This album is awesome. If you consider the tragic suicide of Feeders drummer last year, one would think that a band would either call it quits or be at least hampered in their musical performance and creativity; such is not the case with Comfort in Sound. Through all the unfortunate events, The band has managed to create an awesome, solid, rockin', and dare I say beautiful album. Rather then discouragement, they chose to press on and put together something that I don't think a single person who appreciates Rock and Roll should overlook. Opening with "Just the Way I'm Feeling," Feeder immediately flows with emotion, and has melodies and chorus'that you know you will be singing to yourself as your day goes by. The album constantly keeps you interested wavering from upbeat feel good songs like "Forget About Tomorrow," (Which is a rival for U2's "It's a Beautiful Day," for all time best song to start your day to), to more melancholy, reflective songs like "Child in You." By the time you listen to the whole album straight through to "Moonshine," which pulls all the emotions of the album together into one terrific ending, well.....you'll probably listen to it over again. This is an absolutely amazing album. If you loved the Foo Fighters new album ONE BY ONE, pick up the new Feeder and guarenteed ONE BY ONE will take a back seat to Comfort in Sound.

I absolutly love this album. It's one of those rare cd's ware I love every song. If I'm in a bd mood, all I have to do is put it on and I come right out of it.

I love this album. As with the album after this ("Pushing the Senses") the album ends with a soothing track.

This album is jam packed full of goodies. From the hard rocking "Come Back Around" or "Godzilla" to the melodic "Comfort in Sound" or "Moonshine", this album is a must have for anyone who likes a soft, singing voice and some occasional heavy tunes.

Having suffered greatly (both musical and Emotionally) from the suicide of a band drummer `Jon Lee', the band dug the emotional depths of song writing & Musical direction and came back with a album to is as equally breathtaking as it its heartbreaking, and revealed a side (and musical direction) to the band, they had never been explored before......the album is a Tribute to the fallen drummer ("Just the way I'm feeling", "Come back around" & "Comfort in Sound" prime examples), with the emphasis on expressing just how sorely missed he'll be.....although some of the tracks express a feeling of unabashed melancholy, the band steer away from making the album one of tragic loss, and in amongst the anguish is quite possibly the most coherent & sharply written songs that singer/guitarist Grant Nicholas has ever committed to paper.....There are several Hard Rock Tracks that are superbly uplifting, but the question remains, if this loss has produced the Album of their Career....where do they go from here??

Feeder's 4th album (excluding Swim) is astounding. One of notable qualities of this album is that it is one of the rare CD's that you can honestly put it on and listen for 45 minutes. There is not a single song not worth listening to (exception - Godzilla, but that song has a special meaning to the band).

Feeder's tunes on this album are a bit more mellow than before. The string arrangements are incredible, and the songs are memorable. Standouts include "Just the Way I'm Feeling" (a #10 hit in the UK), "Come Back Around" (#14 in UK), "Forget About Tomorrow" (#12 in UK), and "Love Pollution." The other songs would be standouts on other bands' records.

I highly recommend this album. If you like it, Feeder's other albums are even better.

Ok, I love British bands, but in general I find a lot of them have that mellow depressing sound to them. This band has the perfect mix of the mellowness to it with a hint of upbeat. I love this album! I'm gonna see them play at Bowery tonight in NYC!