feedtime have released a new album called Gas. Since getting back together, they’ve played a few shows here and there and have now come to release their nth album. Whilst they seem to be going from strength to strength, the question is: does this new album have enough in the tank to get them a little further down that highway, or are feedtime now running on empty?

feedtime have never sounded much like a punk rock or noise rock band. They certainly have worked well within those frameworks, but they seem to have taken a lot more from blues and in rock ‘n’ roll than anything else. That doesn’t change on Gas, with many of the songs sounding as though these were the primary basis.

Taking that into consideration, feedtime sound like they always have always; noisy, dry, direct and primitive in delivery, playing as loose and tight as they always have and still invoking an Australian sound.
With that being said, there’s a bit more variation to be found here without sounding like anything other than feedtime, with the closer “Shovelhead” being the most obvious, being a rather warm, expansive-sounding song that still retains most of the sound elements of the previous thirteen tracks.

The lyrics are as direct as the music, which is to great benefit. Whilst high reaching, lofty, subtle meaning has a place, it would have been overreaching for here. They don’t aim to be anything other than straightforward. Paired with vocal deliveries that have aged without weakening, they match the music well and are more effective as a result.

Gas is a welcome return for a band that hasn’t released anything in a long time. There are some slight changes, but it remains consistent with their previous releases. It doesn’t lack in energy and there’s enough here to keep it interesting without going for so long that it wears out its welcome. Gas might not be the best thing that feedtime have released, but it’s still worth hearing.