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When Grant Nicholas announced that Feeder were embarking on an indefinite hiatus in 2012, it looked like the end for a band whose commercial ubiquity was sliding from guaranteed Top 10 to respectable Top 75. Feeder had grafted, been resilient in the face of tragedy, but when Nicholas decided to call a halt, most offered an unsurprised opinion that they’d had a good innings.

Having recharged and reassessed while sowing wild solo oats, Feeder are back in scintillating style. Sequenced with an old-school dynamism perfectly suited to vinyl, All Bright Electric finds the trio bursting through the glass ceiling of a familiar modus operandi with vitality to spare.

Blazing, fiercely contemporary opener Universe Of Life is irresistibly reminiscent of QOTSA. Elsewhere, there’s a brooding, quiet authority, and a vocal performance beyond anything Nicholas even promised previously, with maturity, emotion, reflection and soul.

Eskimo creeps up on you and delivers in spades. Guitars crush, tantalise and seduce. There are shades of Porcupine Tree, but not too many. Climactic closer Another Day On Earth finds strength in fragility, thus defining the compelling forward momentum of Feeder’s most satisfying album to date.

Screen For Me: Grant Nicholas and Feeder

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Feeder's Grant Nicholas: "My solo record might surprise people."

Classic Rock’s Reviews Editor for the last 20 years, Ian stapled his first fanzine in 1977. Since misspending his youth by way of ‘research’ his work has also appeared in such publications as Metal Hammer, Prog, NME, Uncut, Kerrang!, VOX, The Face, The Guardian, Total Guitar, Guitarist, Electronic Sound, Record Collector and across the internet. Permanently buried under mountains of recorded media, ears ringing from a lifetime of gigs, he enjoys nothing more than recreationally throttling a guitar and following a baptism of punk fire has played in bands for 45 years, releasing recordings via Esoteric Antenna and Cleopatra Records.

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