Feeder - Polythene (CD 1997)

GREAT what more can you say about feeders first full length album, probaly their finest hour with a mixture of grundge, rock & indie all an album needs !! check out DESCEND !!! It will blow your mind ... Cheers Dan

I remember anxiously waiting to buy this their first full length album after seeing them live a few times and having bought all the back catalogue to date, I had found some new heroes. It came in a promotional blue "polythene' bag too. My fave was (and still is) My Perfect Day as it was always a real bouncer at their gigs - shame they have shelved this one lately.

Yes, Descend is another epic rock gem that builds you up to huge crescendo. They managed to cram all sorts of direction into this album, pop, rock, metal, funk and everything had melody as well as edgy guitars too. Grant's vocals go from breathy quietness on Suffocate and 20th Cent Trip to outright smash-it-up style screaming. A must for any "new" Feeder fan, still my best Feeder album and I have them all - even the early demos. They still amaze me with the new stuff but this had an energy they never really replicated.

By the way collectors, the first issue '97 had Waterfall on and was recognisable for a "bubble wrap" print on the disc and smaller 'extended' font on the cover - this is the collectible one. The later version came about after the success of High a year or so later and they ditched Waterfall to make way for this track. The later disc had a blue 'tape reel' print on the disc and larger tall font on the cover. If you can find the vinyl version this was the original early artwork too. Happy hunting!

This is the 1st issue of Feeder first full lenght album, released way back in 1997, a record which gained lot of success in the UK. This 12 tracks work is still called by many as their best work. Well, despite being their first, this album doesn't lack in quality and some of the songs featured are still considered their best.
The album opens with the track which named it: "POLYTHENE GIRL", a nice song with good lyrics and a strong rock sound to it. However, it is one of the "softest" on the album. The second song, "MY PERFECT DAY" could well have been a great single, sadly not to be. An amazing track with slow verses and a powerful well executed chorus which many regard as Feeder best ever track. The song had already been released in 1996 as a b-side to the "Stereo world" single, but the version on the album is a re-worked one. "CEMENT" is an amazing track talking about being obsessed with girls. Deservedly released as the 3rd single to be taken from the album, and probably one of the most melodic on the record. "CRASH" is the 4th single and a typical classic Feeder track, with extremely powerful verses and a nice, gentle and melodic chorus.
"RADIATION" is to me the 2nd best song of the record, featuring amazing lyrics and a great build up to an epic strong chorus that will leave you breathless. Sadly, just an album filler and never released on it's own. "SUFFOCATE", the 6th track, is an entirely acoustic song that was released as a single many months after, on the 16th February 1998 (that is also the day of my birthday!) as a full band version. "DESCEND" is to me as good as it's fellow "Radiation" and it really is an epic track that will blow you away. Also appeared on their "Swim" EP in 1996, but never released as a single.
"STEREO WORLD", the first single, released on the 21st of October 1996, so 5 months before the album was actually released. Probably the hardest on the record along with "TANGERINE",the following track, which was instead the 2nd single. Now there's "WATERFALL", a song that I consider, hand on heart, the best on the album. The verses are extremely fast and it's difficult to understand what Grant says, but the "epicness" of the chorus (mind you,don't even know if epicness is a word!) just make this track the best on the record. Ashamingly it was dropped from the tracklisting in the second issue.
"FORGIVE" is another hard track that could of been a good single. Great guitar work and a good melodic chorus. Not to be confused with the unfamous "FORGIVEN" that is instead a far worse and slow song, released as a b-side on the "Cement" single. "20TH CENTURY TRIP" is more of an outro than a full song, and is the worst on the record. Played on acoustic guitar just on 3 chords. Strange lyrics but a good outro though.

A great album that you must buy if you still don't have it, as it really is a big slice of Feeder music history that will make you understand how their music has changed since those good old days.