Feels Post Earth

“You’ll have to leave all of your trash behind/ Even your plastic crucifix,” warn Feels on the title track of ‘Post Earth’. The LA quartet’s B-movie prophesy of environmental catastrophe is part of a wider global awareness on the follow-up to their Ty Segall-produced debut. Fueled by the desire to topple oppression, their anger and frustration may be real but the sentiments are delivered with a healthy dose of scuzzy sweetness.

A brisk half-hour of post-punk, the band knows how to manipulate dynamics to make the heftiest of guitar riffs palatable to a wider audience. At the heaviest end of the spectrum are ‘Anyways’ and ‘Tollbooth’, which snarl along with the best of Babes In Toyland, while ‘Deconstructed’ has the furious brevity of Bikini Kill.

But it’s when they let in some space that they really hit their stride, with ‘Awful Need’ being a garage-rock version of The Bangles as guitarists Laena Geronimo and Shannon Lay harmonise. There are also short excursions into psych-rock courtesy of the throbbing bassline on ‘Last Chances’ and the slightly experimental, submerged chatter on ‘Sour’. These songs might not survive the Post Earth apocalypse but they make an invigorating soundtrack to its downfall.