The Feelies - The Good Earth (1986)

The second Feelies album, coming six long years after their debut, shows the band switching things up and mellowing out a bit. The jerky, post-punk-isms are toned down, replaced by propulsive acoustic guitar strums. Could have been the influence of c0-producer Peter Buck (of REM fame), or perhaps the change in rhythm section. Either way, this album boasts more jangle than their previous effort. The driving beats are still there, and the band can certainly work up a good electric guitar jam, as evidenced on "Slipping (Into Something)". Highlights include the lovely, "When Company Comes", with it's ringing, acoustic intro that builds to a tambourine driven sing-a-long. The barely intelligible layered vocals are reminiscent of contemporary bands like Animal Collective. This is followed by the irresistibly-catchy "Let's Go", featured on Noah Baumbach's The Squid and the Whale soundtrack. Though this back-to-back punch is certainly the heart of the album, there is much here to love. While you could make a case for almost any of the Feelies albums being the band's best, given their overall consistency, this one is my personal favorite, and definitely a great place to start.