A new label, new songs and a new manifesto. The North London outfit return on form.

Words: Karl Johnson | Photo: Percy Walker-Smith

“You either go the mainstream route or the sleazy South London route and we’re slap bang in the middle, so we’re trying to state our spot.” FEET make an astute observation of the London music scene, fistfuls of artists have found themselves pigeonholed by magazines and industry wanting to sell the next big thing coming out of the “South London scene”. It’s tough to find your own groove, it’s tougher to shake off detrimental tags.

So the middle ground it is for FEET, who have not only found a new label home in Nice Swan Records where they’ll release their new EP, but have also just released their most biting and driven song to date in Peace & Quiet. The new track is a call to arms to defend all we hold dear within community-focused grassroots music. The post-pandemic landscape of 2021/2022 must be one whereby the artists are paid fairly for their art and value and ethos is reinserted into our bricks and mortar institutions.

Lyrically Peace & Quiet seems to dig at the degradation of a money-focused and quality-shy modern music industry, but focuses on the individual as the one who holds the power for change. “Lazy journalism, magazines have stopped breathing, punk is just a haircut, it doesn’t have a meaning,” yells lead singer George as the thick and contorting bass groove marks the intro to their new single.

The band’s new EP Walking Machine arrives August 6th via Nice Swan Records (pre-order the EP here). It’s been a disastrous year for the music industry and a quiet year for us all. “What comes after this Peace and Quiet? That’s what excites us the most,” say FEET. I think we can all agree on this point.