Skip to content

Live Review/ FEET @ Rough Trade

On the second night of gigs across the UK, FEET indulged the eardrums of their southwest fans with an unruly evening of aural intrigue.

By Sophie Brown, PhD Chemistry

Five mischievous musicians going under the name of FEET have recently embarked on their headline tour promoting their curiously titled debut album, What's Inside Is More Than Just Ham. On the second night of a long list of gigs across the UK, they indulged the eardrums of their southwest fans with an unruly evening of aural intrigue at Bristol's Rough Trade.

With drummer and bassist sneaking on stage under low lighting to provide funky background beats for the other band members to stroll on to, FEET opened with the instant crowd-pleaser of a single, 'English Weather'. With its ironic drawls conjuring up British discontent in sticky summers, married to the retro psychedelic vibes and rhythmic groove, it showcases one of their perhaps more conventionally presented songs. It springs to mind that FEET may have been happy to brush this tune out of the way as a gentle warm-up, thus aiding their descent into delightful delinquency.

Indeed, the quirky Coventry-based 5-piece cranked things up a notch with some of their more experimental works, such as their title track that bizarrely sings of a "hot dog, full of hot dog hopes and hot dog dreams", and - perhaps even more bizarrely - is incredibly compelling with its syncopated complexity and expertly crafted structure. With the energetic beats and unmistakably catchy riffs of 'Ad Blue', it is not long before FEET have blown the sensible socks off their audience.

From the outset, it is apparent that it would be alarmingly easy for FEET to cruise along purely on their chaotic charisma. With the erratic entertainment from their front-man paired with gurning guitarists adding backing vocals, it doesn't take a great deal of imagination to see the minds from which the absurd authenticity of their lyrics and stories stem from. However, even amid such peculiar and amusing distractions, it is still hard to miss the fact that their musicality offers so much more, and demonstrates a bunch of unruly musical miscreants that have got it together more than first impressions would suggest. The rhythm section is particularly strong, with instantaneously toe-tapping bass riffs and energetic tempos that keep the momentum going throughout their set. With slower, more melancholic passages in songs such as ‘Good Richard's Crash Landing’ and ‘Wiggy Pop’, as well as the laid-back groove of ‘Dog Walking’, the band ease the bubbling chaos down to a gentle simmer, allowing for greater appreciation of their undeniable musicianship and small glimmers of surprising subtlety - albeit short-lived.

Ending their set in suitably anarchic style, FEET unsurprisingly took off the brakes and hit the self-destruct button in a frenzied fury of frantic high-energy tracks, ‘Petty Thieving’ and ‘Outer Rim’, with front-man and bassist both bounding into the audience in a last punk-fuelled hurrah.

Sophie Brown/Epigram

FEET is a band en route to a long and ludicrous adventure through musical mischief, with their ability to deliver songs of skill and silliness in equal measure, as well as outrageous entertainment that is nothing short of plain bonkers. Even though it shouldn't, it works. Somehow, you can't argue with it. This paradoxical conundrum is summed up by their own lyrics: "means nothing, still works though" and so they continue to push the boundaries of talent and tomfoolery. After all, they're "just taking the piss, having a laugh", and in the mundane doom and gloom of British disgruntlement, maybe we're in need of a more regular dose of FEET's unapologetic absurdity.

Featured Image: Sophie Brown/Epigram

Latest