Feeder - 'The Singles' (Echo) Released 15/05/06

One can be sure that there are fewer things more offensive to serious musicians than to have their band defined as "a singles band".

As in, I'm sorry Mr Nicholls (Grant, brooding Feeder songwriter), I can't be bothered to listen to a whole album of work that you have poured your heart and soul into over the last two years, but I quite like the thing you did for that car advert.

On the flipside, there is certainly no shame in consistently producing hits, and in our current iPod generation (though that term should generally be avoided) the short attention span of so many means that any act worth their salt should at least have a handful of tracks for the boys at Mondeo to consider.

Feeder are, in the best sense of the word, a singles band. Like acts such as The Police and The Jam, their full albums have never quite had the potency of their single releases, and tracks such as 'Come Back Around', 'Just A Day', 'Tumble & Fall', 'Just The Way I'm Feeling' and of course 'Buck Rogers' still have an immediacy despite constant rotations (though even the band's fans have grown sick of the latter, their breakthrough hit). Even new track (as with all compilations) 'Lost & Found' has a quality that leaves it lost in your head for some time.

The good thing about compilations such as this is they give the opportunity to examine earlier material missed out on the first time around. Many of these earlier tracks are excellent, with 'Insomnia' and 'Yesterday Went Too Soon' being particular highlights.

No Feeder review could be complete without reference to the tragedy endured following the suicide of drummer Jon Lee in 2002. Many songs since then have had a more low-key edge to them, offering a glimpse of the effect of his death on Nicholls’ mind (he refused to take a call from Lee minutes before his suicide, not recognising the number).

What is left for Feeder to do following this release is unsure, but this is a fine collection of tunes from a band that has looked into the abyss and come out the other side.