Back after nearly 30 years with this former sweetheart repertoire, Crazy Rhythms comes across exactly how it reads on the tin. Composed during the punk and new-wave eras, where noise was a key attribute, The Feelies alternated with a brand of their own thinned-out sonic soundscape. Launching with 'The Boy With The Perpetual Nervousness', it's jangle pop-rock, building in with guitar crescendos and tempo-exhilarating, purified chords.
Their mixture of folk and brash, alternative repetitive experience brings in influences like The Velvet Underground, Lou Reed, The Modern Lovers and Rick Moody. The largely instrumental tracks, peppered by Glenn Mercer's stale vocals, are the band's fortitude in a quest for focussed, unpretentious, exposé experimentations.
'Fa Cé-La' attempts a shade of surf rock, with Bill Million's high-pitched guitar streams outdoing the vocals. 'Loveless Love' is a bitter acoustic drive, full of variation from rustic Spanish folk to layering, dashing tempos, which sprout from their Velvet Underground ideals.
'Forces At Work' is a seam closer to their post-punk days; Wire-infused cranky bass and forcefully cussed out rattling guitar. It remains as country-tinged folk, piping out woody, scaling riffs, which have much in common with that of Talking Heads. 'Original Love' takes on a melodic pop form of indiecation; the best track on the album.
A slight misdemeanour of geeky avant-garde rock is turned over in 'Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey', a well-known Beatles tune; delicate pencil-lead drum beats and vocals hovering above enslaving riffs. 'Moscow Nights' is another fantastic track, with an impellent guitar solo.
Finally, there's 'Raised Eyebrows' and 'Crazy Rhythms'; the former with rubber drum beats and a touch of psychedelia. Unfortunately, the latter fails to continue the surrealism with percussion-rich intensities; garbaging out the 60s dream with waking moments. Yet, overall a really excellent collection of early, influential work.
Rating: 4/5