Consistently masterful and yet perennially underrated, Felt's story was so meticulously executed it almost reads like an indie rock fairytale. The numbers could scarcely be more round: Formed in Birmingham in 1979, they went on to release 10 albums and 10 singles over a period of 10 years, a stated goal after which they proceeded to disband. They achieved absolutely nothing in the way of commercial success, and remain something of an obscurity today, but their music has a habit of clinging to those it does reach, with Belle And Sebastian, Girls and the Manic Street Preachers just some of the acts who cite them as a key influence.
The undisputed leader of the pack, singer Lawrence Hayward's writing fell somewhere between the dingy gloom of post-punk and the tasteful melodicism of alternative rock, and it was those sensibilities which laid the foundations for a glut of cult classics. Whether it be Splendour Of Fear's sodden bleakness, Forever Breathes The Lonely Word's college friendly gems or Me And The Monkey On The Moon's personal pop-perfection, pretty much every corner of Felt's discography is outstanding in it's own right, with no peaks to single out and certainly no valleys to avoid. It might not be ideal for beginners, but their catalogue is truly unmissable, and in a just world would see them ranked alongside Joy Division, R.E.M. and The Smiths in the chronicles of indie rock greatness.
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