I have a confession to make – I love FEET. There may be no better way to spend your Saturday night than witness the marvel that is the Coventry-born five-piece. I had plenty of expectations on the night, having heard comparisons to Blur, Madness and The Stone Roses. However, going into The Trades Club, I was instead greeted by a completely individual and intoxicating performance.
FEET have been going for a decade now and, with a couple albums under their belt – the most recent Make It Up having been released in 2024 – they’ve committed to touring and live shows. Recently they’ve shown up in New York for The New Colossus Festival and then they went South for SXSW. I’ve managed to catch them on their two-month UK tour where the energy evidently remains.
Prior to this, they self released their debut album What’s Inside is More Than Just Ham in 2019. They’ve supported The Rolling Stones in 2022 and have received plenty of critical acclaim for their single releases. A third album is to be released this year through Submarine Cat Records and much more live shenanigans are yet to be had.
They initially all look like a rather polite bunch. Frontman George Haverson leads the band onto stage ringing a bell – setting a strangely ominous tone. They take their places and immediately they own the stage and all of its surrounding area. Framed against an ‘I Heart Feet’ banner they open with Changing My Mind Again and The Real Thing. Both tracks encapsulate the jangly indie optimism of being an English band post Brit-pop. A crunchy guitar is featured in both, along with Haverson’s husky vocals. There’s a lot of emotion behind that voice, and it’s not lost live. He’s the perfect frontman, immediately into it and not taking any prisoners. The one word that comes to mind when thinking of FEET’s music is colourful. It has layers of melody and an endlessly enjoyable energy. There are plenty of builds throughout, most songs leading into a few crashing moments. Good Richard’s Crash Landing proves it’s a sound impossible not to relish.
It’s non-stop vibrancy. Haverson strips a few layers off and seemingly can’t stand still. He clutches a tambourine with immense purpose and strikes a few poses with it. The crowd reflects the same passion back towards the band, even during the more introspective tracks like Why Would I Lie?
Some unreleased material is scattered between veteran songs Dog Walking, Ad Blue and English Weather. The latter is exactly why FEET are often described as ‘quintessentially English’. The lyrics ‘Well it’s not like we’re by the coast / English weather you better pack an umbrella’ rings rather true as a storm rages outside the sweaty walls of The Trades.
They drive further into their indie-pop sound with Chalet 47 as the night draws to an end. It sparkles as a closer, rounding off the evening on a groovy note. They leave the stage and head straight to the merch stand where they dish out T-shirts to hungry followers. I manage to engage in a swift chat where they only have great things to say about their first time at The Trades – compliments focus on the quality of the tech on stage and the food supplied to the band. Even as people filter out, the air is buzzing. All you really need on a particularly miserable and cold night is FEET and the undeniably exhilarating show they grace you with.
Words by Poppy Cortese
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