Review: Bleached – For The Feel

When I recently revisited last year’s Ride Your Heart, Bleached’s first and only full-length, I couldn’t get all the way through. Half of the songs were too boring and unoriginal to keep me from skipping to the good ones. Luckily, three-song EP For The Feel comprises only good ones. The title track starts with the band’s typical beach-bum pop punk, with vocals that are cool enough not to sound sappy. Next is “Poison Ivy,” a surf-pop song with girl-group harmonies. Last, and best, is a cheerful, Bleached-blond version of “Born to Kill” by The Damned. It’s an unexpected move, but they pull it off with Joan Jett flair. For The Feel distills the fun of Ride Your Heart, but with more looseness—though it isn’t remarkable, it’s worth the investment just shy of a buck per song for digital or a buck per inch for vinyl. –Cody Kirkland