EXPECTING LIFE TO BE SO SAFE (Swim: Re-surfaced - Feeder)

Member Name: C_Padd

Product:	Swim: Re-surfaced - Feeder
Date:	18/01/02 (59 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great music, Good mix of song styles

Disadvantages: Not as good as they get

Feeder may have the hit the headlines for reasons they would not have wanted recently. The death of Jon Lee, their drummer was tragic, just when Feeder seemed to be getting the recognition they deserved they are hit back. Swim is the first ever album they released under contract as the current line up, way back in 1996.

Swim was originally released as a six-track mini album in June 1996. I got the new edition that includes the original six and five other songs from the same sort of time, as well as two videos of ‘Crash’’ and ‘Cement’. The original six are the first six songs on the album basically ‘Sweet 16’, ‘Stereo World’, ‘W.I.T’, ‘Descend’, ‘Shade’ and ‘Swim’.

1. - Sweet 16 – 3:32 – First track on the album, nice way to start off with strong electric guitars providing the backing along with solid drums. Good lyrics behind the music, the guitars are very electric and make it seem mysterious, and the whole song is a bit mournful. Good chorus the song is not the most lively but is powerful and good guitars.

‘Save yourself, look and see, think about it, sweet 16, you could be, anywhere, see yourself standing there.’

2. – Stereo World – 3:32 – A real heavy opening to the song with quick and loud electric and bass. Some excellent lead guitars, and a high pitched sound to add to that. Play it loud, it is one of those songs that just has to be at top volume. Not just a loud song though, the singing and lyrics are equally good.

‘Doesn’t matter when I can’t drift away, Life in a Stereo World’

3. - W.I.T – 2:29 – Well what do you think W.I.T represents? Nope not some clever play on worlds, but Women in Towels. Don’t ask. Anyway the song is one of my favorites, good guitars that are always there to make the song come alive then exp
lode and the whole song is light hearted and the vocals are quite high and funny.

‘It’s not what you are, its what you do.’

4. – Descend – 5:25 – Another mournful and darker song. Starts slow, then bangs into life after about a minute shouting I’M NOT INSANE, then the chorus is a sweet vocal song, with the versus slower. The lyrics are painful and quite sad really, well sung though.

‘If I could be, all by myself, I could be me’

5. – Shade – 4:09 – Another of my favorites from the album, quick moving and has a nice and catchy tune to it that makes it stick in your head in a nice way. Some more good lead guitars, though there is a more acoustic section halfway thorough, though it is sandwiched between two very good and upbeat guitar pieces.

‘I just fall into shade’

6. – Swim – 3:19 – A very sad song, slow and quiet, but very reflective and slows the pace of the album down. There are no instruments except one acoustic guitar throughout. Some of the best displays of Grant’s lyrical talents. The words are superb, and the song is slow enough to catch all of them. Sung superbly as well, good song to look back on, though slightly different from the album. Good mix of styles on the album in general, from very loud and upbeat to slow and depressing.

‘Kill, kill or be killed for,
Expecting life to be so safe,
Caught, caught in a mantrap
Another part of me has changed.’

7. – Elegy – 4:13 – Another slower paced song, more acoustic and strings though still has drumming back to it. Not as sad as ‘Swim’, more of a remising tune to this. Does break into life near the end with a nice ending. Not the most inspiring song on the album, not too bad though.

‘Open your arms, just see how it is’

8. – World Asleep –
; 4:19 – Gets more to the heavy guitars and powerful vocals and with meaningful and fierce imagery of lyrics. Nice song, strong eclectic guitars and the lyrics of the verses really do create some vivid images, powerful stuff.

‘See, see what I can see, cover me with angels wings’

9. – Chicken on a Bone – 3:46 – Lively chorus, not a huge amount to this song it all seems to merge together there is a nice reflective piece that is comporting to listen to, more electric feel to this.

‘See it so near, it seems so far, its when you hear its where you are’

10. – Spill – 2:58 – Heavy song. Very heavy with growling guitars. Short song, while it lasts it is a good track, the sort that makes you want to get up and do something. Still quite an angry tone to it, fierce lyrics though it is quality music not just a very loud noise.

‘I can’t believe it, why can’t you see it, I can’t believe it’

11. – Forgiven – 4:46 – A more relaxed ending to the whole album. The vocals are soothing, it is amazing how they can go from these two tracks that could not be less alike, yet still transfer with equal amounts of quality. Slow, smooth and somber song, nice and easy to listen to.

‘Thinking of all the days, walking by the tress, staring at the sun’

This special enhanced CD version that I got also include two music videos from Feeder as well. Both ‘Crash’ and ‘Cement’ are on Feeder’s ‘Polythene’ album, the one after this, and were released as singles. Crash is a great song, fast moving and full of energy. The video is a bit surreal, set in a quarry with heavy machinery moving around the band while they play and do other antics like having a tea party. How rock and roll. A nice bit of fun, a good song as well. Cement is another good song, more behind this
song, it is about a girl he gets obsessed about. The whole video is around this girl, it is almost like a home video though, not very many expensive special effects. Still a good look, great chorus. Both are able to play on any home computer, nothing too fancy.

The cover and inlay are pretty slim and basic. There are no lyrics, something I usually like to have a read while I listen. Red is the colour of this album, with a fish on the cover. A few pictures of the band, all with their long hair and so on. I got this album as a Christmas present from my parents. They got it from amazon.co.uk for a pretty good price of £7.99. Not bad for a full album, plus the extra videos.

Overall a good album, not the best from Feeder though it is still much better than other stuff around. It is good to see how they started, looking back now they have made it bigger to see what they did before. With the dead of Jon Lee it will be good to see them continue, though I am not sure if they will. They will be missed, great music, though not as good as they get.

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