Feeder
Elf

Only a few Britpop bands survived their peak, and even fewer remain relevant. The Newport duo are survivors, still releasing new music with their twelfth album inbound. More importantly, they remain as vital as ever. What does their new single, ‘Elf’, tell us about where the band is going?

Feeder announced a new album along with two singles, ‘Elf’ and ‘Play with Fire’.

Both songs will appear on the Black / Red double album which lands in just a few months with a whopping eighteen new songs. Nicholas and Hirose have been very productive given they have released an album every two to three years since 1997, including recent records Torpedo (2022), Tallulah (2019), and All Bright Electric (2016).

‘Elf’, Environment, and Music

First of all, don’t be alarmed. They haven’t taken the Mariah Carey route into the Christmas music market – you won’t be hearing ‘Elf’ every Christmas. Unless you choose to.

From the opening to the last tunes, ‘Elf’ is a testament to Feeder’s signature sound. If someone wakes you up playing a song by many of the rock bands out there, you’d be baffled but with Feeder, you always know. They’re the very meaning of the signature sound phrase.

With ‘Elf’, Feeder join others who’ve been loudly expressing their worries about the future of the planet. This is the only place within our reach where we can thrive and we should be taking that responsibility seriously.

The lyrics are often brief consisting of lines of just one word. Each such word represents a larger idea, a major concept, and refers to the bigger picture.

What is Feeder’s ‘Elf’ about?

In a way, with ‘different cultures / different faces’ Grant is moving around the world map, adding pins to it, and wanting us to join the dots, unite, and save what connects us all. Or face the inevitable.

Racing hearts
You know we have the will
Together strong
Or we’ll be lost

Feeder – Elf

‘Elf’ is an urgent but positive call to action. Begging us to stop and revert the environmental crisis that could soon turn into a disaster.

While the situation is dire because we can see ‘the town below / above the smoke’, there’s (some) hope.

Why is the song titled ‘Elf’?

In folklore, elves are known to live in harmony with nature. The elf could have answers to our questions, from how to fix the planet to how to live in harmony with nature in the coming centuries.

Watch Feeder – ‘Elf’.

Feeder – “Elf” Lyrics

Here we are
Still climbing up that hill
The town below
Above the smoke
Racing hearts
You know we have the will
Together strong
Or we’ll be lost

Tell us something we don’t know
Cause we have reached the end
The end …
We’re just trying to defend
Trying to make a difference
Amend …
Amend …
Devastation
Life on planet Earth
Our salvation
This is a call to thе nations
Hesitation
We’re running out of timе
Looking forward not behind

Tell us something we don’t know
Cause we have reached the end
The end …
We’re just trying to defend
Trying to make a difference
Amend …
Amend …

Joining dots
Going places
Different cultures
Different faces
All of us making choices
Or nothing changes

We’ll be lost …

Tell us something we don’t know
Cause we have reached the end
The end …
We’re just trying to defend
Trying to make a difference
Amend …
We’re just trying to defend
Before we reach the end

The end

Written by Vinklarek on 1st November 2023

Petr 'Pete' Vinklárek writes mainly about music. Prior to entering the digital industry, he taught Translation Studies & British and American Cinema at a university. In his spare time, he hikes, listens to podcasts, watches films, and writes poetry. Petr studied the English Language and Literature at The University of Ostrava; his master’s thesis covered some aspects of Warren Zevon's work.

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