The Way I Feel Today

The Way I Feel Today is where Six by Seven's career veers off the Radiohead trajectory. Their second album, 2000's brooding and accomplished The Closer You Get may have drawn parallels with The Bends, but this new one is no OK Computer. Instead, the Nottingham band have decided to consolidate their sound, playing up on the big emotional numbers, and are headed for territory occupied by later Oasis or Stereophonics when they stop sounding like Rod Stewart. That's not necessarily a bad idea: the moody epic "All My New Best Friends" burns with a slow fuse, like Embrace are always attempting to do, while "Speed Is In / Speed Is Out" veers erratically between a Girls Versus Boys glower-fest and straight-edge punk. Any more of this, and they could be filling those vacated stadiums. --Everett True

The press release that accompanied the CD states that this is Six By Sevens continued assault against mediocrity. While it certainly isnt a mediocre album, its not one that will set 2002 alight either, but obvious influences from the likes of Radiohead, Swervedriver and My Bloody Valentine have allowed Six By Seven to produce a heady mix that runs through the entire gamut of emotions.

The Way I Feel Today peaks with the hauntingly melodic "All My New Best Friends", before plunging, without warning, headlong into the Clash-esque two-minute punk blast "Flypaper For Freaks" - Chris Olleys snarled lyrics providing a marvellous wake-up call to the senses that even had the neighbours banging on the wall. And this is exactly what the album is about. You're in the arms of your lover one minute and then cast into a dark void the next.

There are the pure unadulterated declarations of love that are recent singles "So Close" and "I.O.U. Love", while the rifftastic and stand out track "Cafeteria Rats" is a scabrous attack on those who talk themselves up to hide the emptiness of their lives.

The albums title track packs an emotional punch with Olley assuring us, the way I feel today is because of you, while "American Beer" is a towering epic, underpinned by existential anger.

There are low points. I awoke with a pain in my head, screams Olley on "Speed Is In/Speed Is Out" and that is exactly what you could be left with after this and follow-up "Karen O" - one of the weaker tunes - which features an incessantly annoying bass-line.

It appears though that Six By Seven have successfully survived the loss of co-founding guitarist Sam Hampton between the release of The Closer You Get in 2000 and The Way I Feel Today and this new offering from the scaled down four-piece - their fourth - is easily their best to date. --Jack Smith

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MANTRA, MNTCD1027, 11 Track