Feed The Villain by Fever Rouge
Feed The Villain is the return of Brighton based alternative rock band Fever Rouge with their bold eclectic push forward from ‘Can You See’ into a new avenue of post-grunge.
We see the band's brazen attempt at weaving elements from outbranching alternative genres into their patent sound with elements of shoegaze, post-punk and indie rock emerge in this emotionally incisive seven track EP. Selling melancholy, attitude and outrageous social views Fever Rouge seem to have hit the nail on the head with a well balanced coherent piece of work.
‘Shplang’ is a warm welcome to the EP with the heavyset drums being the driving force of the song. The rhythmic symmetry glues the shifty nature of the guitar together as it creates an evocative frame for the band's disposition, establishing a tone of ambivalence and instability. A personal highlight through this whole project for me is the lead singer's playfully ambiguous lyrics mixed with the straight forward delivery, giving this band their unique yet relatable personality.
Title track ‘Feed the Villain’ is a dive into the more raucous and chaotic form of the band, invoking a sense of their fiery live shows with punchy rhythms and scuzzy guitars through a landmark piece. Proceeded by the cathartic funkiness of ‘Weatherman’, an energetic peak is reached in the EP’s midway point. With a more orthodox songwriting approach to both songs there's no surprise to their success in the pre release campaign, showing theory don’t just know how to invoke emotion, they know how to sell it too.
Porcalin and The Mast follow suit of each other in delivering a melancholic sense of yearning, done blissfully through the lead singer's vocal performance, specifically in the form of being melodic focused and carved with hauntingly sweet falsetto notes being reached. Entwining with hypnotic rhythms and wistful guitar melodies the introspective dreamlike state of mind one is drawn into gives depth to the overriding theme of the EP.
Overall ‘Feed The Villain’ is a dynamic balance of well crafted songs for the slightly emotionally destructive and antisocial. A great follow up to their debut EP showing their ability to change however keep well rooted to their original sound. Being incisive and eclectic there’s no doubting the devout time, effort and emotion put into creating a noteworthy display of the modern human psyche.
