Pushing the Senses

Infobox Album | Name = Pushing The Senses
Type = Album
Artist = Feeder


Released = January 31, 2005
Recorded = 2004
Genre = Alternative rock
Length = 40:13
Label = Echo
Producer = Ken Nelson, Grant Nicholas, Gil Norton
Reviews =
* Q Rating|4|5 [http://feederscrapbook.co.uk/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/qptsreview1.jpglink]
* BBC.co.uk Music (favorable) [http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/rockandalt/reviews/feeder_senses.shtml link]
* Teraz Rock Rating|4|5 [http://www.terazrock.pl/cd.php?CdId=2673 link]
Last album = "Picture Of Perfect Youth"
(2004)
This album = "Pushing The Senses"
(2005)
Next album = "Feeder The Singles"
(2006)

"Pushing the Senses" is the fifth album by British rock band Feeder. It was released by Echo Records on January 31 2005 in the United Kingdom. Most critics criticised the bands approach to what was described as Keane and Coldplay style music, and "departing" from their trademark sound heard on their first three albums, while Q Magazine stated that the album could "finally establish" the band as "major league players". "Pushing the Senses" was a top five album in Feeder's native United Kingdom, and its lead single "Tumble and Fall" was a top five single. In the Republic of Ireland the album was released the previous week, peaking in in the top twenty. This made the album Feeder's most successful in terms of peak chart positions.

The album represented a similar musical style as seen on 2002's "Comfort in Sound", and featured more songs written on a piano and also had as described by frontman Grant Nicholas as more of an "organic" sound than that of the latter. Inspirations were that of John Lennon within some of the songwriting. "Pushing the Senses" received a Pop Factory award in 2005 for "Best Album". In January 2005, the album was certified gold in the UK, becoming a modest commercial sucsess.

Recording and production

"Pushing the Senses" contains music in the same rock styles featured on Feeder's 2002 album "Comfort in Sound", but it focuses more on pianos, rather than a string orchestra. [http://web.archive.org/web/20071014071402/http://feederweb.com/view.php?template=normal&page_id=58 "GRANT NICHOLAS ON PUSHING THE SENSES"] . feederweb.com. February 2005. Retrieved March 7 2008.] Only "Pain on Pain" on the album mainly used strings, including samples from a mellotron. [http://www.toazted.com/playinterview/710/Grant-Nicholas-about-Pushing-The-Senses-Part-1.html "Grant Nicholas about Pushing The Senses (Part 1)"] . toazted.com. December 2004. Retrieved March 7 2008.] Frontman Grant Nicholas said he didn't think the album needed them. [http://www.toazted.com/playinterview/710/Grant-Nicholas-about-Pushing-The-Senses-Part-1.html "Grant Nicholas about Pushing The Senses (Part 1)"] . toazted.com. December 2004. Retrieved March 7 2008.] He also called the album's the bands "Recovery album" as he felt he was more at ease writing the songs than he was with "Comfort in Sound", after the loss of their drummer Jon Lee, [http://www.xs4all.nl/~kuiper/feeder_2004/index.htm "Feeder - Grant Nicholas"] . Faceculture. December 2004. Retrieved March 7 2008.] and said that he was inspired by artists such as John Lennon within the piano playing, and writing the songs. [http://www.toazted.com/playinterview/710/Grant-Nicholas-about-Pushing-The-Senses-Part-1.html "Grant Nicholas about Pushing The Senses (Part 1)"] . toazted.com. December 2004. Retrieved March 7 2008.]

Feeder and Gil Norton recorded the bulk of "Pushing the Senses" in 2004 at Abbey Road Studios, London, England — the same place The Beatles famously recorded the album of the same name. Ken Nelson recorded "Frequency" in Liverpool with the band, as Grant felt he could capture the organic sound. [http://www.toazted.com/playinterview/710/Grant-Nicholas-about-Pushing-The-Senses-Part-1.html "Grant Nicholas about Pushing The Senses (Part 1)"] . toazted.com. December 2004. Retrieved March 7 2008.] Grant recorded the piano first with the rest of the track built around it. [http://www.toazted.com/playinterview/710/Grant-Nicholas-about-Pushing-The-Senses-Part-1.html "Grant Nicholas about Pushing The Senses (Part 1)"] . toazted.com. December 2004. Retrieved March 7 2008.] Grant said the album as a whole does have a retro sound to it, but didn't want to "sound too retro". [http://www.toazted.com/playinterview/710/Grant-Nicholas-about-Pushing-The-Senses-Part-1.html "Grant Nicholas about Pushing The Senses (Part 1)"] . toazted.com. December 2004. Retrieved March 7 2008.] The title track was one of the first songs Grant wrote for the album in 2003, and was at first written on a piano before being translated to guitar, [http://web.archive.org/web/20071014071402/http://feederweb.com/view.php?template=normal&page_id=58 "GRANT NICHOLAS ON PUSHING THE SENSES"] . feederweb.com. February 2005. Retrieved March 7 2008.] [http://www.toazted.com/playinterview/710/Grant-Nicholas-about-Pushing-The-Senses-Part-1.html "Grant Nicholas about Pushing The Senses (Part 1)"] . toazted.com. December 2004. Retrieved March 7 2008.] and also said that he could have easilly recorded the song with strings. [http://web.archive.org/web/20071014071402/http://feederweb.com/view.php?template=normal&page_id=58 "GRANT NICHOLAS ON PUSHING THE SENSES"] . feederweb.com. February 2005. Retrieved March 7 2008.] [http://www.xs4all.nl/~kuiper/feeder_2004/index.htm "Feeder - Grant Nicholas"] . Faceculture. December 2004. Retrieved March 7 2008.] "Tumble and Fall", which became the album's first single, seen Grant describe the recording process as "old fashioned", with bass player Taka Hirose saying that the band should include it on the album. [http://www.xs4all.nl/~kuiper/feeder_2004/index.htm "Feeder - Grant Nicholas"] . Faceculture. December 2004. Retrieved March 7 2008.] The song was recorded with the vocal and an acoustic guitar first, and then the other parts of the music built around it. [http://web.archive.org/web/20071014071402/http://feederweb.com/view.php?template=normal&page_id=58 "GRANT NICHOLAS ON PUSHING THE SENSES"] . feederweb.com. February 2005. Retrieved March 7 2008.] [http://www.toazted.com/playinterview/710/Grant-Nicholas-about-Pushing-The-Senses-Part-1.html "Grant Nicholas about Pushing The Senses (Part 1)"] . toazted.com. December 2004. Retrieved March 7 2008.] [http://www.xs4all.nl/~kuiper/feeder_2004/index.htm "Feeder - Grant Nicholas"] . Faceculture. December 2004. Retrieved March 7 2008.]

In an interview with the bands official website Feederweb, Grant explained that "Feeling a Moment", was played back with the intro playing backwards, in which he explained:- "This was one of the first songs written for the album. I actually started recording that song in the studio on my own at the Crypt. The song was written at home, as soon as I had that intro, the vocal “woo who” bit – what ever you want to call it – that was a really important hook for the song. It starts off backwards, like the tracks being turned backwards and then it kicks into the intro. I think it is a more typical Feeder track, we felt it was a powerful start to the album. Lyrically, its trying to put your self in somebody’s mind – in somebody’s head space, that could be somebody close to you or whatever – trying to kind of imagine how they feel about either you or about how they see things or how they feel about the world, wondering whether they have similar feelings to yourself. It’s quite hard to explain, but that’s where it’s coming from". [http://web.archive.org/web/20071014071402/http://feederweb.com/view.php?template=normal&page_id=58 "GRANT NICHOLAS ON PUSHING THE SENSES"] . feederweb.com. February 2005. Retrieved March 7 2008.] In a DVD packaged with limited quantities of the album, Grant is seen playing a piano during the recording sessions, and once said that he don't rate himself as a piano player. [http://www.toazted.com/playinterview/710/Grant-Nicholas-about-Pushing-The-Senses-Part-1.html "Grant Nicholas about Pushing The Senses (Part 1)"] . toazted.com. December 2004. Retrieved March 7 2008.] He also stated that Feeder are a band, and even though he writes all the songs, he makes sure drummer Mark Richardson and bass player Taka Hirose have their say in the process of the creation of the songs. [http://www.toazted.com/playinterview/710/Grant-Nicholas-about-Pushing-The-Senses-Part-1.html "Grant Nicholas about Pushing The Senses (Part 1)"] . toazted.com. December 2004. Retrieved March 7 2008.]

Critical response

"Pushing the Senses" received mixed reviews from rock music critics. In a review for Dotmusic, Chris Heath said that "Feeder are in danger of being a schizophrenic band, unrecognisable from their once “trademark” sound and prone to style swings on a whim".Heath, Chris. [http://uk.launch.yahoo.com/050218/33/1xisj.html "Feeder – "Pushing the Senses"] . Dotmusic. February 18 2005. Retrieved March 4 2008.] The Guardian said the album was a "kind of emotional aural soup that will baffle the spikier members of their original punky fanbase". [Simpson, David. [http://arts.guardian.co.uk/reviews/story/0,11712,1400046,00.html "Feeder, Pushing the Senses"] . "The Guardian". January 28 2005. Retrieved March 4 2008.] However, Q Magazine reviewer Paul Brannigan was impressed, and wrote that the album could "Finally establish Feeder as major league players".Brannigan, Paul. [http://feederscrapbook.co.uk/wordpress/?p=60 "Q: "Pushing the Senses" Review] . Feeder Scrapbook. January 15 2005. Retrieved March 4 2008.] Metacritic, a website which aggregates the albums reviews from selected publications, gives an overall score of 52/100 indicating "Mixed or average reviews" from a total of six. [http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/feeder/pushingthesenses?q=Feeder "Pushing the Senses" by Feeder"] . Metacritic.com. Retrieved March 4 2008.] Chris Heath later stated "Pushing the Senses" is by no means soppy, but Feeder's young fanbase might need some convincing". [http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/feeder/pushingthesenses?q=Feeder "Pushing the Senses" by Feeder"] . Metacritic.com. Retrieved March 4 2008.] Grant said that positive reviews are good to have, "but at the end of the day do not sell records". [http://www.toazted.com/playinterview/710/Grant-Nicholas-about-Pushing-The-Senses-Part-1.html "Grant Nicholas about Pushing The Senses (Part 1)"] . toazted.com. December 2004. Retrieved March 7 2008.] In a 2008 interview with Kerrang! on the bands most well-known singles, Grant expressed his annoyance with the Coldplay comparisons, in which he said they were only made because he played a piano on the album. [ [http://feederscrapbook.co.uk/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/kerrangwecanwritegreatpopsongs2.jpg"Kerrang (1215): We Can Write Great Pop Songs!"] . feederscrapbook.co.uk. June 21 2008. Retrieved September 10 2008.]

In a review for BBC.co.uk, Lisa Haines praised the sound of "Pushing the Senses", stating "The brand of raucous rock anthem which catapulted them to fame is virtually absent here, the band's new sound is far more thoughtful and understated. "Feeling A Moment" and "Tumble And Fall" are prime examples. Both have Coldplay inspired soaring vocals and catchy melodies, but a little of their lyrical hand wringing seems to have crept in too", and later said "That's not to say the album is bad, because there is a lot to like here. "Pilgrim Soul" and title track "Pushing The Senses" see Feeder thrash furiously away at their instruments, which should appease those who prefer their earlier work". [Haines, Lisa. [http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/release/6mhj "Feeder- "Pushing the Senses"] . BBC.co.uk. February 18 2005. Retrieved March 4 2008.]

Q Magazine included the album in its list of the top fifty albums of 2005, [http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/qlists.html#2005 "Q Magazine's albums and tracks of 2005"] . Rocklist.net. December 2005. Retrieved March 6 2008.] ranking it at number thirty-nine with the second single "Feeling a Moment" being voted the ninety-eighth best track of the year by their readers. [http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/qlists.html#2005 "Q Magazine's albums and tracks of 2005"] . Rocklist.net. December 2005. Retrieved March 6 2008.] At the 2005 Kerrang! Awards, Feeder received a nomination for "Best British Band", the same award they won two years previously. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/3172315.stm "Kerrang! awards 2003 report"] . BBC.co.uk. August 22 2003. Retrieved March 7 2008.] [Williams, Lowri. [http://www.gigwise.com/news.asp?contentid=7808 "Green Day Head Up Kerrang Award Nominations"] . Gigwise. August 10 2005. Retrieved March 7 2008.] The album later received a Pop Factory award for "Best Album". [ [http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/webguide/archives/music/index.shtml?pop_factory_awards_2005_results "Pop Factory Awards 2005 results (5/12/05)"] . BBC.co.uk. December 5 2005. Retrieved March 8 2008.]

ongs

"Tumble and Fall", the third track on "Pushing the Senses", was chosen as its lead single because the band didn't want to start off with "a big rock song", and try a different approach to the first single. [http://www.toazted.com/playinterview/710/Grant-Nicholas-about-Pushing-The-Senses-Part-1.html "Grant Nicholas about Pushing The Senses (Part 1)"] . toazted.com. January 2005. Retrieved March 7 2008.] The single became the bands most successful single release since "Buck Rogers", reaching the top five in the UK.Roberts, David (2006). "British Hit Singles and Albums 19th Edition". Guinness. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.] Grant claimed that "Tumble and Fall" is a love song, but can be interpted in any way. [http://www.toazted.com/playinterview/710/Grant-Nicholas-about-Pushing-The-Senses-Part-1.html "Grant Nicholas about Pushing The Senses (Part 1)"] . toazted.com. December 2004. Retrieved March 7 2008.] In an interview on Feederweb.com Grant said of the song:- "Again this is about the ups and downs of life. It’s about life in general and how you deal with it. It covers the journey of life and how you have to take the ups with the downs. I wasn’t going to record this song. It took me a long time to finish it, to be happy with it, because the song went through various stages. I wasn’t sure if we really needed a tune like that on the album. But I decided to go to the studio to record an acoustic version just to see what happened and that’s how the song started. It was a completely one take vocal, live with the acoustic guitar and we built everything else around it. It is an acoustic track that grew into what it is now. So that was the only song that we recorded like that on the album, so it is a bit different for that reason and is probably why it has an organic feel to it". [http://web.archive.org/web/20071014071402/http://feederweb.com/view.php?template=normal&page_id=58 "GRANT NICHOLAS ON PUSHING THE SENSES"] . feederweb.com. February 2005. Retrieved March 7 2008.]

The second single, "Feeling a Moment", received mostly positive reviews from critics, with Q Magazine comparing the song to "Beautiful Day" by U2 when they reviewed the album, with Paul Brannigan stating that the song "Has the optimistic soaring feel of U2's Beautiful Day...".Brannigan, Paul. [http://feederscrapbook.co.uk/wordpress/?p=60 "Q: "Pushing the Senses" Review] . Feeder Scrapbook. January 15 2005. Retrieved March 4 2008.] It charted at number thirteen in the UK Singles Chart,Roberts, David (2006). "British Hit Singles and Albums 19th Edition". Guinness. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.] and was originally going to be the albums first single.Lai, Alex. [http://www.gigwise.com/contents.asp?contentid=4925 "Feeder: Hungry to get their teeth back into the UK"] . Gigwise. March 16 2005. Retrieved March 8 2008.]

"Pushing the Senses", the third single, was released in July of the same year, but became the bands lowest charting single since "Day in Day Out" from 1999, when it entered the UK chart at number thirty.Roberts, David (2006). "British Hit Singles and Albums 19th Edition". Guinness. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.] This was followed-up in November with "Shatter / Tender", in which "Shatter" was a b-side on "Tumble and Fall" and left off the album as the band felt it wouldn't fit in with the general feel of the album, [http://www.xs4all.nl/~kuiper/feeder_2004/index.htm "Feeder - Grant Nicholas"] . Faceculture. December 2004. Retrieved March 7 2008.] but was included on the Japanese release. A fans petition was set up to release the song as a single, [Goodden, Joe. [http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/music/sites/feeder/pages/shatter.shtml "Feeder grant some power to the people"] . BBC.co.uk. Retrieved March 7 2008.] and was also included alongside album track "Tender" on the end credits of the European dub of the Russian film "Night Watch"."Night Watch". European DVD end credits. Accessed March 8 2008.] The single reached number eleven in the UK singles chart.Roberts, David (2006). "British Hit Singles and Albums 19th Edition". Guinness. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.]

Chart performance and sales

"Pushing the Senses" debuted on the UK albums chart, at their highest chart position to date at number two (blocked from the top position by Athlete's "Tourist"), and sold 42,951 copies. [ [http://www.chartsingles.net/news/music-news/293/ "EXCLUSIVE: Charts Round Up"] . ChartSingles.net. February 7 2005. Retrieved March 6 2008.] The album remained on the chart for fifteen weeks,Roberts, David (2006). "British Hit Singles and Albums 19th Edition". Guinness. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.] and was certified gold on January 28, 2005. [http://www.bpi.co.uk/platinum/platinumright.asp?rq=search_plat&r_id=32501 "British Platinum Certification for "Pushing the Senses"] . British Phonographic Industry. January 28 2005. Retrieved March 4 2008.] The album reached the top one-hundred in The Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland and Japan with a top twenty appearance in the Republic of Ireland, [http://dutchcharts.nl//showitem.asp?interpret=Feeder&titel=Pushing+The+Senses&cat=a "FEEDER - PUSHING THE SENSES (ALBUM)"] . dutchcharts.com. Retrieved March 4 2008.] "Album Chart-Book Complete Edition 1970-2005". Orikonmāketingupuromōshon (2006). ISBN 4871310779.] [http://www.chart-track.co.uk/index.jsp?c=p%2Fmusicvideo%2Fmusic%2Farchive%2Findex_test.jsp&ct=240002&arch=t&lyr=2005&year=2005&week=5 "TOP 75 ARTIST ALBUM, WEEK ENDING 3 February 2005"] . Billboard.com. Retrieved March 4 2008.] "Pushing the Senses" became Feeder's first release to chart on the top twenty of the European Top 100 Albums, where it peaked at number eleven. [ [http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/23790/20050220-0000/ISSUE781.pdf "ARIA Report, Week Commencing: 14th February 2005"] . Pandora Archive. February 14 2005. Retrieved March 6 2008.]

Track listing

All tracks were written by Grant Nicholas, and composed by Feeder.

# "Feeling a Moment" – 4:08
# "Bitter Glass" – 4:34
# "Tumble and Fall" – 4:19
# "Tender" – 4:14
# "Pushing the Senses" – 3:27
# "Frequency" – 3:09
# "Morning Life" – 4:02
# "Pilgrim Soul" – 3:44
# "Pain on Pain" – 4:04
# "Dove Grey Sands" – 4:37
# "Shatter" (Japanese version only)
# "Victoria" (Japanese version only)

DVD tracks and footage

All DVD tracks and footage appear on the United Kingdom, Japanese and European CD/DVD editions of "Pushing the Senses".
* "Tender" (The Depot Sessions)
* "Dove Grey Sands" (The Depot Sessions)
* "Pushing The Senses" (The Depot Sessions)
* "Bitter Glass" (The Depot Sessions)
* "Pushing The Boundaries" (Documentary)
* "Tumble And Fall" : The Video Diaries (includes the video)
* "Victoria" (5.1 Mix and Lyrics Screen)

Charts

References

External links

* [http://www.feederweb.com Official Feeder Website]