Single Selection: The Feeling ~ Rescue

Ah The Feeling. They continue to be pretty amazing really don't they? And their amazingness is directly linked to how hot the band is looking with each passing year (Richard looks particularly lovely. Sophie is a very lucky lady :D) They've been busy beavering away on their fourth album, Boy Cried Wolf (see here) and have finally unleashed their first single from the project. Entitled Rescue, it received it's first play on Ken Bruce's Radio 2 show on Monday 19th August (listen here at 2hours 1minute up until Sunday 25th August) - and as should be expected now by a group as melodiously infectious as The Feeling, it's a right bobby dazzler of a tune. It starts off with punchy piano and a handclap beat as Dan's resonant voice pleads for salvation one more time, ably keeping the vibrant atmosphere of the instrumental (which in turn makes the tune more celebratory rather than a dour yearning). As he sings "Come to my rescue once again/sometimes I get lonely" there is a crash of percussion punctuating the vocals & one can't help but remember their early smash, Never Be Lonely. As a semi-sequel to that tune, Rescue actually works incredibly well - the realisation that love is actually a never ending quest that requires work; that it isn't the dream that people hope it will turn out to be. Don't be down though - Rescue is about the healing power of this incredible emotion & the enormous, full band chorus ensures that it becomes an optimistic, entirely euphoric quest (the likes of which haven't been seen since Harry Potter went searching for the Elder Wand in the Deathly Hallows :D) What's always been brilliant about The Feeling is their ability to blend their lovely harmonies with their exquisite ear for mellifluous melody built around engaging, hook laden music. Rescue is no different - there's a propulsive crescendo vibe to the song (particularly in the thrusting middle 8, possibly their best since Join With Us) that helps it to reach anthemic proportions. It did and will continue to sound amazing on radio, possibly only surpassed by how brilliant it will sound at their live shows later this autumn! And! Just as I was typing this review up, the video for the track appeared online (above) - it's part one of an ongoing storyline that basically follows a young potentially alien child face off with a helicopter. This is all set back in 1987 and the modern element (set in 2013) at the beginning teaches us that all that running around has turned the young fella into a rather buff dude whose toplessness is totally appreciated... SO excited for the album now :)