Gaz Coombes – Feel Loop (Lizard Dream) Review

Discomforting it is to see a cemented artist release half an album as singles to drum up some interest in a new project, Gaz Coombes seems undisturbed by this. Feel Loop (Lizard Dream) is another track from the Supergrass frontman as he mounts his solo project for release. It is one of many tracks to promote the album, and one of many that offers up very little in the way of closely-guarded excitement. Here it comes, another track. It is as fine as the rest of them and notably better than the first single dud, Sonny the Strong. From the UFO-like sounds and the darker tones taken in this piece, it feels like Coombes is onto something.

Too little, too late perhaps? Feel Loop (Lizard Dream) is definitely the best of the singles bunch for Coombes’ upcoming effort – although that is not a high bar to vault. The guitar work here specifically is what marks a change of pace for Coombes and his solo efforts. Feel Loop (Lizard Dream) has a lifted appeal to it, an antagonising, whammy guitar that lingers underneath a surface of solid vocal builds that feel constant throughout. Experimental touches and real artistic flourishes do come through this piece, and it feels as though Coombes is most comfortable there. It is a shame then that they fall on deaf ears or are completely absent in the preceding tracks.

Possibly the most interesting part to come from this project is the instrumental works, but Coombes, thankfully, does not let listeners down with some broader lyrics and interesting ideas put to song. Sounding like an unidentified flying object coming into land, the opening of Feel Loop (Lizard Dream) is as broad and interesting as the title it is coupled to. Stringy guitars strike through and underline Coombes’ trip through the full moon-lit nights. There is a simplicity to the broader message, of having a chunk cut out by someone undeserving, but it is the optimism that comes from those cold guitar workings that settle so well. Coombes offers a hand to those down on their luck with Feel Loop (Lizard Dream), a well-needed one for those needing to hear it.

Definitely the strongest piece Coombes has offered from this upcoming project so far and by far the most interesting piece of the bunch. Turn the Car Around may have hope just yet as speckles of interest are planted delicately. Hopefully, this quality, this interest, can be found on the rest of the tracks so far alluded to but not heard on Turn the Car Around, although Feel Loop (Lizard Dream) feels totally unique in its stature. Possibly the most interesting track Coombes has managed this side of the decade. It is a hopeful one, one that cements its message and meaning with great clarity but manages lyrical flourishes not quite heard elsewhere in the singles so far released. Beyond that comes real, interesting moments of guitar work and instrumental elements that have not managed to produce much else, beyond the earworm Long Live the Strange and Arctic Monkeys-inspired Don’t Say It’s Over.