Review Summary: A reminder of why grunge-y rock was worth listening to in the first place.
For a debut record, FeelAbout's
Point of You has been a long time coming. The Israeli band formed late in 2004 and has been generating grassroots buzz and critical acclaim alike at home and abroad ever since. It isn't hard to see why; FeelAbout takes cues from classic heavy rock and easy going melodic rock and combines them to produce electrifying results. Admittedly, they're fairly orthodox stylistically, and yet, they still manage to diverge from the countless acts that have adopted similar posturing over the past decade and a half. Where modern hard rock is wont to abusing soft/hard song structures, sterile guitar work, and mediocre vocals, FeelAbout is a reminder of why the genre was worth listening to in the first place.
Point of You opens with two of FeelAbout's heaviest songs in "Colors and Shapes" and "Slave". In a way, it's a bit of a misleading manner to kick off the album, musically; dirty guitars, accentuated by Roni Weinstock's vocal snarl dominate both tracks, making for a gritty sound in the vein of a group like Soundgarden. They're powerful songs and certainly demonstrate FeelAbout's penchant for grunge-influenced rock, but at the same time, they hardly encompass the band's sound as a whole. "Silence", for instance, forgoes electric guitars all together, opting for acoustic instrumentation and an entirely more soothing performance from Weinstock. "Small Mind" and "Sing" highlight FeelAbout's pop sensibilities, relying on hooks rather than musicianship (though guitarists Guy Fisher and Eldar Cohen do lay down meaty riffs in the former). And all this converges on standout track "Break Even"; light-hearted alternative rock gives way to driving, aggressive riffing, before transitioning back again.
What's striking about
Point of You is just how developed FeelAbout's sound is. True, the album doesn't really break any new ground, but in the absence of revolutionary advances in rock aesthetic, they've at least nailed their craft. Given the band's nearly six year run, they've obviously had time to smooth out the rough edges, and it shows, as
Point of You is a very focused, and spirited effort. It makes for a compelling listen, and given the record's promising nature, FeelAbout should continue to shine.
