IN REVIEW: Bully - "Feels Like"

In terms of setting a tone, Bully's debut album wastes no time; the incendiary, bellowing I Remember charges from the gate, bum rushing unprepared listeners and sucker punching preconceptions one may have gotten from judging the album by its cover. Feels Like doesn't maintain quite this level of intensity all the way through, but it stays consistently vicious with only a few dips in tempo. Even then, the resulting tunes singe as much as they soothe, as evidenced by singles Trying and Too Tough.

The majority of Feels Like is fun, fleet and loud, doing its business in under a half hour. It will call early Hole to mind for a lot of folks, and that's an apt enough comparison, but I find portions of the overall sound (by times, at least) hearken back to '80s groups like The Go-Gos and Bangles, especially on Reason, Brainfreeze and Milkman.

Those pop sensibilities coupled with the relentless guitar attack make for a debut that, while not all that unique, consistently entertains and leaves me wanting more. Of all the goals a band can set out for a first LP, what could be a more important one than that?

June 23, 2015 • Startime International/Columbia

Highlights Trying • Too Tough • Reason

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