Feeder - Echo Park (2001)

Feeder could be seen as the British brother of American rock band Foo Fighters -- apart from the initials, these two groups also share fast rock instrumentation and ear-catching melodies. In addition, neither group has shaken off its own influences, and while Foo Fighters' melodies go along with their instrumentation in both tempo and muscle, Feeder's delicate Brit melodies (á la Oasis or Blur) contrast with the speed of the music, all of which makes it more progressive and nu metal-ish. Except for the first cut, "Standing on the Edge," which exceptionally combines sampled guitar riffs (in the style of early Death in Vegas) and elements of metallic rock, Echo Park is full of this musical disparity: from "We Can't Rewind," "Turn," "Oxygen," "Tell All Your Friends," and "Just a Day" to the extremely well-known hit "Buck Rogers," you see this bipolarity between the North American and the British. It is possible, indeed, that Grant Nicholas' virtue in spattering this fast rock with epic touches, thanks to his angelical but distorted voice, also makes the band's ballads easier, as heard in the fabulous "Piece by Piece." Feeder have constructed a delicate bridge between the U.K. and the U.S., and it works for now; the future will tell how sturdy this bridge is.