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The Feeder story could have been so different. Rock's also-rans for so long, it wasn't until the commercial breakthrough of the Buck Rogers single in January 2001 that people really sat up and took notice. Then, just as they were about to grasp the success they'd craved for so long, drummer Jon Lee took his own life in January 2002.

This much we know. And it's inevitable that Feeder's comeback album Comfort In Sound is overshadowed by the band's bittersweet history. Taster single Come Back Around was an explicit farewell to their former band member, and listeners could be forgiven for looking hard for further references in the rest of the record.

They're likely to be disappointed, for Comfort In Sound, Feeder's fourth LP, isn't the bold confessional and farewell many may have been expecting. Rather, it's an assured, bold collection that shows how far Grant Nicholas has come as a songwriter.

The majority of songs here were written in 2001, as the band prepared to return to the studio to record the follow up to Echo Park. Inevitably there was a hiatus as events took a twisted turn, but the recruitment of stand-in drummer Mark Richardson has put them back on track as one of the best pop-rock acts around.

And recruiting a new member hasn't done their sound any harm at all. On Comfort In Sound Feeder have finally shedded their cartoon rock mantles and grown as a band. Helium is a Hole-alike grunge workout, Find The Colour is an exercise in American rawk ("and it feels so damn good"), and the lush strings-and-electronica Child In You is one of Feeder's most tender moments so far.

While the entire album is dedicated to Lee, three songs stand out as eulogies. Aside from Come Back Around, there's the distorted gutter-rock of Godzilla, which begins with the lines "Live life in overdrive, lost love in suicide", and Quick Fade, with its refrain, "I miss you more than words can say" above a seductive, heartbreaking melody is the most affecting moment on the album.

There's a lot of emotions on this record," says Grant Nicholas. "Certainly on half of this record there are lyrics that were definitely fuelled by emotions that I felt. Every song on this record really does mean a lot in terms of both the content and the mood of it. That's what we've always tried to do. But in a sad way, there's more ammunition to play with on this one."

Like many of the best artists, Feeder have taken their inspiration from tragedy and hardship and turned it into something great. A new beginning it may be for the band, but Comfort In Sound is the result of a band finally fulfilling its potential.

Words: Joe Goodden