FEEDER x ELLEGARDEN SONIC BRIDGES TOUR REACHES LONDON

LIVE REVIEW | LONDON KOKO | May 11th 2025 by Tom Jenkinson

Noughties rockers Feeder should be long in the tooth enough to pack out London’s KOKO on a Sunday without needing to release any substantial new material between tour announcements. That is not to say they have sat on their laurels in that time, having released new albums consistently for the last 20 years, just that their status as one of Britain’s finest indie/alternative bands in the post-Nirvana era is fully cemented at this point.

However, their co-headline show with Japan’s ELLEGARDEN yields a pleasant split of ELLEGARDEN and Feeder shirts in the crowd. I hope I can be forgiven for my naivety to ELLEGARDEN’s international reach, given that this is their first ever UK appearance in their entire career, which has included a 10-year hiatus in that time.

The tour celebrates a long-standing friendship between the two groups, with Grant Nicholas and Taka Hiroshe welcoming ELLEGARDEN to the stage personally, with ELLEGARDEN’s Takeshi Hosomi proudly boasting that the band listened to Feeder throughout their early tours. Tonight’s performance at KOKO is part of the second leg of this joint tour which has already covered five dates in Japan and Taiwan, with an additional five dates across Europe for the return leg.

Tonight is a good mix of earlier classics and current material, opening with 1997’s Insomnia and Come Back Around before launching into more recent and aptly themed Kyoto from 2019’s Tallulah album. Fan favourites Buck Rogers, High, and Comfort in Sound remain in their live rotation, which is significant for anyone who recalls a period when the band were reluctant to play many of their best-know hits, no doubt sick of the repetition.

Given the stage time is shared equally between the two bands on the bill, and therefore Feeder’s set is limited, it is a little disappointing that tracks like Hey You rings out into a feedback loop, with Grant Nicholas dragging it far beyond its natural end. It feels a little indulgent when this is potentially at the expense of other songs. Likewise, a cover of Breed feels equally unnecessary although this has been a set staple for many years now.

However, undeniably the signature clarity of Grant Nicholas’ vocals still pierces through the distortion of the rest of the band (look no further than Tangerine or Comfort in Sound). There is a wonderful contrast between the rugged and refined of Feeder’s sound; it is completely timeless and sounds as good today as it has ever done.

Meanwhile, Feeder’s co-headliners ELLEGARDEN have an unapologetic 90s pop-punk sound, and the parallels to similar English-language bands of the same era are many (think Simple Plan, Blink-182, Sum 41 etc). Rhythmically they are tight and punchy, and the bountiful mix of English and Japanese choruses mean there is something on offer for everyone in attendance. Their set will appeal to listeners that still enjoy that early 2000s American pop-punk sound in 2025.

The evening ends in stage-chaos, with Feeder bringing Takeshi from ELLEGARDEN back on stage for Seven Days in the Sun. The song itself is a joyful anthem and hints at not taking life too seriously. It is a sweet note to end the night on and is emblematic of the unity that clearly Grant and Taka have found in performing music globally now for over two decades.

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Tom Jenkinson

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