I think it must be said that Yesterday Went Too Soon followed up its great predecessor and bettered it in probably every way possible. Polythene was a good record, yes, but was quite unrelenting with its use of fuzzy guitars and ended up almost suffocating in places. Yesterday Went Too Soon strips back the distortion at key points and let"s Grant Nicholas" more introspective songwriting moments take over, giving it a far more balanced dynamic quality, and thus ensuring that the record improves on what went before. A key point for the record is the production " the songs are allowed more space to breathe with a looser mix, and with a much less dense guitar sound than found on Polythene it is a far more enjoyable listen.
Naturally, all this improvement as a band would be irrelevant if the songs weren"t up to scratch but they are, and by the bucket-load. Opener "Anaesthetic" is a good choice to start off with, despite the fact that it isn"t a particularly great song, but leads nicely into "Insomnia", the second track. "Insomnia" is a fantastic example to contrast against the previous record. Certainly, its heavy, distorted, drop-tuned riff wouldn"t sound out of place on Polythene, but lyrically the song is great and the extra guitar parts and descending middle 8 work brilliantly, subtly altering the dynamics and ensuring the song doesn"t get boring. In the main the album has very few weak moments in fact, and those slightly inferior songs (the rambling "Picture Of Perfect Youth", "Radioman" and also "Dry") generally work fine within the album track-listing. Lyrically this is also a success, instead of inferior and miserable lyrics about finding love in dark places that dominated their most recent two releases, songs like "Waiting For Changes" and "Radioman" show off Grant"s everyman opinion lyrics that echo bands like The Kinks and The Jam.
Generally, the best tracks ("Insomnia" aside) turn out to be the quieter moments, though it is certainly a shame that in future years this would be perceived as the best route to take. "Tinsel Town" is a moment of fragile brilliance that introduces a distorted guitar near the end, giving an uplifting feeling of drive. "So Well" has a nice lyrical hook as well, and closer "Paperfaces" takes all that went before and finishes the album in a more sombre mood which contrasts nicely, as for the most part Yesterday Went Too Soon"s quieter moments are more indie-influenced upbeat songs. There is also a hidden track at the end of "Paperfaces"; it is called "Bubblehead" and reminds and me heavily of Polythene with its gritty guitar and distorted vocals.
Yesterday Went Too Soon is probably Feeder"s best album, at least in my opinion. Where Echo Park seems too light-hearted too often, taking away from its more introspective moments and Pushing The Senses is generally a tepid bore, Yesterday Went Too Soon is a collection of great songs that are ordered well enough to ensure that it is hard to skip a song " it is one of those rare records which works so well that when you are walking along singing one of the songs, you automatically start humming the start of the next track on the record as you finish the one you are singing!
