Crazy Rhythms, the 1980 debut by Hoboken, New Jersey art poppers The Feelies, may have been released 30 years ago to very little commercial success, but if one thing is true about old underground rock records, it's how well they hold up over time. Crazy Rhythms is a template for what was and is to come. For nearly two decades, the band has been on hiatus, only reforming within the last two years to play one-off shows. Now the band is set to release Here Before, their first studio album in 19 years and fifth overall. Bar/None, the label who reissued Crazy Rhythms and the 1986 follow-up The Good Earth in 2009, will be releasing Here Before, later this spring (no date has been scheduled.)
Needless to say, the anticipation of hearing thirteen brand new Feelies tracks, cut by founding Feelies Glenn Mercer and Bill Millions and the line-up that has remained intact (despite long distance commutes and long periods of time) since 1984 is huuuge. Feelies fans who caught the reunited band at All Tomorrow's Parties or a handful of east coast concerts were given a taste of the new songs that would later be recorded for the record, but I refuse to settle for crappy live YouTube footage before hearing the real thing. Resume Crazy Rhythms fixation and the new album will be here before you know it.