With "indie" rapidly becoming a by-word for "whinging", it's refreshing to hear an album like The Feeling's debut, Twelve Stops and Home. People who come to this album having only heard the catchy-yet-downbeat single "Sewn" might find the jaunty, upbeat tone of the rest of this album a refreshing surprise. Twelve Stops and Home is pure, summery optimism, with most tracks bouncing along at a happy, head-nodding pace, and packed to the brim with simple, singalong lyrics, including the liberal use of "la-la-la" and "na-na-na". Sure it's lightweight, but that's no bad thing--it cuts like a ray of sunshine right through the knee-hugging depression of contemporaries Coldplay and Keane, with whom the Feeling are sometimes, bizarrely, compared. Instead, Twelve Stops and Home is a pop album straight out of the 1970s, played by young men with guitars and a piano. Which explains why "Fill My Little World" and "I Want You Now" are so cheerful, sounding like Squeeze would have if they sang about puppies. On Twelve Stops and Home, the Feeling may not be out to change the world, but they're happy to make it a bit brighter. --Ted Kord