The Feelies

Among the formal breakthroughs accomplished by the Velvet Underground was something called the drone strum. As perfected by Lou Reed, this strum didn't syncopate to emphasize the backbeat the way rock rhythm guitar usually did -- in fact, it barely syncopated at all, tending more toward chopped, evenly accented eighth notes dropped squarely on the beat. And it was this nervous chink-chink-chink-chink-chink-chink-chink-chink that gave the anxious edge to the likes of "I'm Waiting for the Man" and "White Light/White Heat."

That same strum is at the heart of the Feelies' sound on Crazy Rhythms. Yet as much as it defines the band's groove, it doesn't limit the band's rhythmic vocabulary; indeed, songs like the briskly tuneful "Fa-Ce-La" or the slow-building "The Boy With Perpetual Nervousness" augment the basic pulse with a second line of overdubbed percussion. Moreover, this strictly disciplined approach to rhythm makes even the slightest variation, such as the lengthy breakdown on the title tune, stand out in bold relief.

Six years later, the Feelies -- this time sporting a new bassist and drummer as well as a full-time percussionist -- returned for round two, The Good Earth. This time around the band's groove is more con-ventional (note the standard folk-rock strum of the acoustic guitars on "On the Roof") but still heavily indebted to Reed and the Velvets. If anything, the group has added a few Velvetisms to its repertoire -- in particular, the "Heroin"-style acceleration and explosion of "Slipping (Into Something)." Only Life can't quite match that growth (though it does include a cover of Reed's "What Goes On"), though it doesn't backslide, either. But Time for a Witness pushes beyond mere imitation as the band refines its sound into something that's at once evocative of the band's influences and yet stylistically distinct, especially on the plangent, bluesy "What She Said" or the dark, moody "Find a Way." (J.D. CONSIDINE)

From 2004's The New Rolling Stone Album Guide