FEELINGS ARE GOOD

Lonely Robot was one of the more interesting art rock projects to come out of the UK in the last decade. Masterminded by the great John Mitchell (Arena, It Bites, Frost*, Kino) who is assisted mainly by drummer Craig Blundell (Steven Wilson, Frost*, Steve Hackett, and many more), the 'band' released a triplet of albums that went under the name 'The Astronaut Trilogy'. Among them, I must admit, the 2019 effort 'Under Stars' sounds like the strongest one. Well, 'Feelings Are Good' is even stronger, more convincing, more memorable, and much more personal.

The lonely robot has landed back on Earth and gives us the full picture on how he feels about his presence on it, his aspirations and disappointment, his most sincere thoughts and ideas. A really wonderful concept that John Mitchell manages to present flawlessly. I feel strongly that this is his most energetic and musically expressive solo album, definitely his best one in the whole Lonely Robot catalogue. Mixing progressive rock's challenging offering with his pop-sided and melancholic twist, John Mitchell captures a palette of feels in a really convincing and intriguing manner. Sometimes more minimalistic, acoustic, and mellow, and sometimes aggressive, raging, and visceral.

The highlights of the album are not few, these including opener 'Feelings Are Good', a tiny introduction piece that sets the mood, follow-up 'Into the Lo-Fi' which is quite accessible and playful, definitely catchiness was pursued and achieved successfully here. 'Spiders', that also happens to be one of the singles' is a great track with an explosive chorus. 'Life Is A Sine Wave', another single and another very memorable track, exploring the curious theme of happiness in life.

'Keeping People as Pets', the final single released before the launch of the album, is undoubtedly one of the best tracks on the album, and of the highlights of the Lonely Robot catalogue, a very strong early Peter Gabriel solo vibe, who I think has influenced the art rock direction of the record. Mesmerizing keyboard and crunchy guitars intertwine with John Mitchell's astonishing voice to provide one of the most durable choruses of the year, if I can call it that way. Finally, 'Army of One' is the 'heaviest' track on the album, and also happens to be my absolute favorite (it was hard to choose between it and 'Keeping People As Pets'). I must fall into repetition but this track is also one of the best that John Mitchell ever released, a real gem in the Lonely Robot discography. The rest of the songs are also good and deserve to be heard.

Overall, I think this is the best Lonely Robot album so far, a record that definitely deserves your full attention because it is quite revealing and really sheltering towards the listener, an album that was obviously done quickly but carefully crafted.