“Stay the course. Keep on trying.” So sings Glenn Mercer on the Feelies’ In Between, their sixth album and second since rebooting in 2008. Last year, the Haledon, N.J., band founded by guitarists Mercer and Bill Million celebrated its 40th anniversary. Crazy Rhythms, their frenetic, classic debut, arrived in 1980, but they waited six years for their second, the comparatively sedate The Good Earth. That was the first Feelies album with the band’s current lineup of Mercer, Million, bassist Brenda Sauter, drummer Stan Demeski and percussionist Dave Weckerman. After the (relatively) quick run of three albums between 1986 and 1991, the band retired until Sonic Youth coaxed a reunion in 2008 that led to sporadic touring and to 2011’s Here Before. The Feelies will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our new feature on them.
Demeski: I got this at my friend’s store in NYC, probably mid-’80s. It’s a German issue, so it’s a great quality pressing and package. It always astounds me when they start out kind of sparse, start playing more together, adding other players, then seemingly going out of phase or time with each other. Only to end up back together. Steve Reich and Philip Glass were my two main introductions to “new” music. I still play the orchestral bell side at the holidays because it’s sounds like a bunch of sleigh bells being played simultaneously.