The jittery, droning New Jersey band whose 1980 debut Crazy Rhythms quietly rewired American indie rock.
MOODS · jittery · droning · nervy · understated · hypnotic · restrained · introspective · wiry · autumnal · minimalist
BIOGRAPHY
The Feelies formed in Haledon, New Jersey in 1976, growing out of an earlier group called the Outkids featuring Glenn Mercer, Bill Million and Dave Weckerman. After lineup shifts, including drummer Anton Fier joining in 1978, the band was dubbed 'The Best Underground Band in New York' by The Village Voice before releasing any records.
Their 1980 debut Crazy Rhythms became a critical touchstone despite modest sales, later ranked among Rolling Stone's and Spin's best albums lists. After a mid-1980s hiatus filled with side projects, the band returned with The Good Earth (1986, produced by Peter Buck), Only Life (1988) and Time for a Witness (1991) before splitting in 1992. They reunited in 2008 and have since released Here Before (2011), In Between (2017), and a Velvet Underground covers album (2023).
WHY THEY'RE COOL
Few bands to emerge from the New York-area underground of the late 1970s left as deep a mark with as little commercial noise as the Feelies. Crazy Rhythms, with its skittering rhythms and nervy melodic tension, became a foundational document for the American indie scene, cited as a major influence by R.E.M. and later artists like Yo La Tengo, Real Estate and Weezer. Rolling Stone called them 'a template of formal perfection,' a rare distinction for a band that spent much of its career willfully avoiding the spotlight, breaking up and reforming on its own unpredictable timeline.
GEORGE'S PLAYS
George has played this artist 2 times.
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